THE  RESURRECTION. 


ELIPHALET    NOTT,  D.D 


&~<u*lhj9f.  /ycjj.  Jil.t^ 


*& 


^  Wit  %\mb(ficiti  $ 


'm 


% 


•t, 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


BT  480  .N677  1872 

Nott,  Eliphalet,  1773-1866 

The  resurrection  of  Christ 


Shelf. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/resurrectionofchOOnott 


THE 

Resurrection  of  Christ 

%  Skttitz  of  Stottrsw 

BY 

ELIPHALET  %OTT,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

T.ATF,  PRESIDENT  OF  UNION  COLLEGE. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 

BY 

TAYLER  LEWIS. 


Nno  ftork: 

SCRIBNER,    ARMSTRONG   &    CO. 

SUCCESSORS  TO 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER  &  CO. 
1872. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

Bt  SCRIBNER,   ARMSTRONG   &   CO., 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Poole  &  Maclauchlan,  Printers, 
205-213  East  Twelfth  Street. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTICE. 


This  publication  is  intended  mainly  as  a  memorial  to 
the  numerous  alumni  of  Union  College,  or  to  bring  vividly 
before  their  minds  the  remembrance  of  one  greatly  vener- 
ated and  beloved.  The  majority  of  them,  doixbtless,  yet 
recall  his  noble  form,  and  not  a  few  are  still  living  whose 
memories  go  back  to  the  days  of  his  prime,  when  he  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  chief  pulpit  orators  of  our  land. 

We  think  that  this  latter  class  will  read  these  sercnons 
with  special  interest.  For  them  they  will  revive  a  fading, 
yet  still  precious  reminiscence,  bringing  up  a  most  life-like 
picture  of  the  man  as  he  once  stood  before  them  in  the 
pulpit.  It  will  help  them  to  see  again  that  impressive 
action,  so  calm  and  chastened,  yet  so  powerful ;  to  hear 
again  the  tones  of  that  voice,  as  clear  in  its  solemn  whis- 
per as  in  its  loudest  utterances.  They  will  read  them  to 
greater  effect,  and  with  a  more  equitable  criticism,  because 
they  can  so  readily  fill  up  from  such  remembrance  what 
the  mere  printed  page  must  fail  to  convey. 

Dr.  Nott  was  pre-eminently  an  impassioned  preacher, — 
a  true  preacher  in  distinction  from  the  logical  casuist  or 
the  methodical  didactic  lecturer, — a  preacher  in  the  old 
sense  of  the  term,  that  of  xrjpuf,  prceco,  herald,  proclaimer, 
"  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,"  or  "  at  the 
city  gates," — calling  aloud  to  men,  demanding  their  atten- 
tion to  some  great  fact,  and  setting  it  forth  in  language 
exuberant  and  superlative,  indeed,  yet  most  natural  when 
regarded  as  flowing  from  an  over- welling  fountain  of  emo- 
tion.    Some  might  charge  him  with  a  Ciceronian  fulness, 


IV  INTRODUCTORY    NOTICE. 

or  an  unnecessary  copiousness  of  language,  or  certain 
modes  resembling  the  heraldic  style  of  solemn  repetition; 
but  the  serious  reader  will  see  how  far  this  is  from  any- 
thing that  may  be  justly  described  as  empty  declamation 
or  mere  verbosity.  Few  are  the  epithets  that  have  not  an 
emphatic  and  even  a  suggestive  significance.  There  are 
some  repetitions  that  may  have  come  from  changes  made 
to  adapt  particular  sermons,  or  parts  of  them,  to  other  oc- 
casions— thus  interrupting  their  continuity,  as  is  adverted 
to  in  the  notes — but  in  most  cases  they  are  simply  a 
method  of  deepening  the  emphasis,  by  using  twice  and 
thrice,  in  the  same  connection,  the  same  well-chosen  word, 
instead  of  weakening  the  impression  by  an  evident  seeking 
for  variety.  Especially  will  those  who  knew  the  preacher 
recognize  all  these  peculiarities  as  well  adapted  to  that 
striking  effect  which  was  ascribed  to  Dr.  Nott's  oratory  in 
the  days  of  his  power,  or  when  he  everywhere  drew  crowds 
to  hear  him. 

More  than  any  other  American  clergyman  did  he  resem- 
ble some  of  the  great  French  preachers  in  the  days  of 
Louis  XIY.  He  had  nothing  Edwardean  about  him ; 
nothing  of  the  Scotch  manner,  whether  as  regards  its  logic 
or  its  boisterousness  ;  but  in  many  things,  especially  in  his 
exclamations,  his  invocations  of  the  divine  name,  and  his 
passionate  appeals  to  the  hearer,  might  he  be  compared  to 
the  fervid  Massillon.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  any 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  preachers  referred  to,  or 
that  he  strove  to  imitate  them,  either  in  their  excellences 
or  in  any  mistaken  view  of  their  faults.  In  these  respects, 
both  in  regard  to  what  is  to  be  commended  for  its  clearness 
and  power,  as  well  as  in  that  for  which  he  may  be  held 
liable  to  criticism,  his  style  of  expression  and  his  manner 
of  delivery  were  all  his  own.  Such,  too,  was  ever  the 
impression  made  upon  the  mind  and  the  feeling  of  the 
hearer. 

As  we  have  already  intimated,  Dr.  Nott's  preaching  was 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTICE.  V 

not  logical,  nor  even  argumentative,  in  tlie  strict  sense  of 
the  word.  The  old  "  doctrines  of  grace  "  were  his  message, 
as  something  to  be  proclaimed,  not  to  be  proved,  as  some 
preachers  are  forever  doing.  His  object  was  more  to  im- 
press than  to  convince ;  or,  rather,  to  convince  by  im- 
pressing. Hence  it  is  that  an  important  fact,  or  a  striking 
idea,  is  held  up  by  him  in  changing  lights.  It  is  the  same 
fact,  the  same  idea,  coming  over  and  over  again,  it  may  be, 
yet  each  time  presenting  a  varied  aspect,  and  thus  deepen- 
ing the  effect  of  the  whole  picture  he  aims  to  set  forth.  It 
resembles  the  impassioned  pleading  of  a  lawyer  before  a 
jury, — of  a  deeply-moved  advocate  losing  sight,  for  a  time, 
of  his  formal  brief,  carried  away  by  the  emotional  rather 
than  the  logical  connections,  and  holding  up,  in  varied 
though  striking  forms,  some  great  fact,  or  facts,  with  which 
he  would  impress  the  tribunal  he  is  addressing.  These  ser- 
mons abound  in  exclamations.  In  the  delivery,  too,  there 
were  striking  pauses,  with  new  starting-places,  as  we  may 
call  them,  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence  (though  never  letting 
the  old  subject  drop  out  of  mind),  and  all  so  managed  that 
passages,  syntactically  very  long  in  the  writing,  had  given 
to  them,  in  this  way,  the  appearance  and  the  force  of 
separate  appeals.  Dr.  Nott  wrote  his  sermons  with  this 
his  own  peculiar  mode  of  delivery  in  view,  and  without 
any  thought  of  publication ;  knowing  that  his  manner  of 
utterance  would  supply  every  seeming  defect  of  the  kind, 
or  as  they  might  be  regarded  in  a  composition  intended 
solely  for  the  eye.  The  few  changes  that  have  been  made 
by  the  editor  have  been  mainly  designed  to  remedy  this, 
or,  in  other  words,  to  preserve  the  syntactical  clearness  of 
the  thought,  such  as  the  calm  reading  demands,  without 
losing  any  of  that  vivid  accompanying  emotion  which  so 
richly  appeared  in  the  oratorical  exhibition.  It  is,  in 
short,  simply  an  effort  to  bring  the  reflection  of  the 
preacher  in  the  book  as  near  as  we  can  to  the  exact  repre- 
sentation of  the  preacher  in  the  pulpit. 


VI  INTKODUCTOKY   NOTICE. 

There  are  other  discourses  of  Dr.  Nott,  which,  taken 
separately,  might  have  been  thought  better  adapted  to  pub- 
lication. It  was  also  at  one  time  deemed  advisable  to  add 
the  sermon,  so  admired  in  its  day,  on  the  death  of  Ham- 
ilton. These,  however,  were  selected  becaiise  they  seemed 
to  form  a  series  presenting  a  degree  of  unity  not  elsewhere 
found.  In  this  way,  too,  their  capability  of  being  brought 
out  as  relating  to  one  general  subject  was  an  advantage, 
inasmuch  as  it  furnished  a  larger  title  for  the  book,  that 
might  possess  a  greater  interest  than  the  usual  uninviting 
one  of  "  sermons." 

Dr.  Nott's  style  of  preaching  was  widely  different  from 
that  which  was  most  prevalent  in  his  day,  and  before  his 
day,  throughout  his  native  New  England.  When  it  is 
said,  however,  that  he  was  impressive  rather  than  logical 
or  argumentative,  the  assertion  needs  to  be  qualified. 
There  is,  indeed,  in  these  discourses  a  rich  and  powerful 
argument,  notwithstanding  that  the  syllogistic,  or  any  for- 
mal logical  aspect,  be  almost  wholly  wanting.  It  is  un- 
answerable. This  may  be  boldly  said  in  view  of  a  position 
which  has  lately  been  assumed  with  a  confidence  that  seems 
to  challenge  denial.  It  is  frequently  asserted  that  the  old 
reasoning  on  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  or  of  such  a 
fact  as  that  of  the  Resurrection,  will  no  longer  answer  in 
view  of  modern  objections.  It  might  have  done,  they  say, 
fifty  years  ago,  but  "  the  higher  criticism  "  has  given  a  new 
aspect  to  the  whole  matter.  Paley  and  Lardner  did  very 
well  as  against  the  more  shallow  infidels  of  their  day,  but 
there  has  arisen  a  race  of  unbelieving  Anakim  far  surpass- 
ing Hume  and  Voltaire.  The  defender  of  the  Scriptures 
needs  new  armor  to  meet  them.  German  Rationalism  has 
rendered  all  the  old  arguments  obsolete.  This  is  repeated 
continually.  By  sheer  reiteration,  often  without  the  at- 
tempt to  give  a  particle  of  evidence,  the  impression  is  pro- 
;  duced,  especially  on  the  minds  of  the  young,  that  there  has 
somehow  arisen  some  new  and  terrible  form  of  doubt,  some 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTICE.  VII 

most  formidable  difficulty  unknown  to  other  times,  and 
unassailable  by  any  former  arguments.  It  is  an  undefined 
spectre.  It  is  everywhere  haunting  our  modern  literature, 
though  taking  no  precise  form.  It  is  the  shadowy  pres- 
ence of  some  new  enemy,  never  clearly  seen,  but  who  has 
rendered  unavailing,  it  is  said,  all  former  tactics,  whether 
of  assault  or  defence.  In  defending  Christianity,  if  it  can 
be  defended,  we  must  take  a  new  start,  and  proceed  upon 
grounds  differing  altogether  from  the  old. 

Now  this  is  all  an  impudent  falsehood.  We  say  it  un- 
hesitatingly. There  is  no  new  difficulty,  or  any  so  sur- 
passing former  difficulties  as  to  be  entitled  to  the  name. 
There  is  no  substantial  objection  to  the  Gospels,  or  to  the 
Bible  generally,  that  has  not  been  known  to  scholarly  and 
thinking  men  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  Some  as- 
pects of  Bible  authorship  have  been  changed,  some  ecclesi- 
astical writings  have  been  pronounced  spurious,  though 
very  few  that  had  not  always  been  suspected ;  some  new 
various  readings  have  been  discovered,  but  in  no  respects, 
or  in  the  most  unessential  respects,  have  they  changed  the 
general  aspect  even  of  the  critical  field,  much  less  that 
great  argument,  remaining  the  same  from  age  to  age,  be- 
cause built  on  the  unchanging  foundations  of  our  deeply- 
investigated  human  nature.  There  is,  in  short,  no  vital, 
no  essential  difficulty,  no  one  going  to  the  root  of  the  great 
debate,  that  was  not  as  familiar  to  the  learned  men  of  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  as  it  is  to  the  best 
scholars  now. 

Equally  unfounded  are  the  ignorant  assertions,  so  often 
and  so  flippantly  made,  in  respect  to  what  science  has  done 
or  is  going  to  do.  Science  has  done  much,  undoubtedly, 
in  her  own  department  of  inductive  discovery ;  she  has  de- 
tected a  great  many  more  shadows  than  were  formerly  seen 
upon  the  dim  rear  wall  of  the  earthly  cavern  to  which  we 
are  confined.  She  has  bored  down  a  few  inches  deeper 
into  the  cells  of  matter,  and  finds  it  matter  still — matter 


Vlll  INTRODUCTORY   NOTICE. 

as  resistance,  matter  and  motion — nothing  more.     Be  it 
coarse  or  fine,  most  gross  or  most  ethereal,  it  is  the  same 
thing  in  its  ultimate  elements.     It  is  simply  site,  arrange- 
ment, proportion,  number, — nothing  more.    The  life-giving 
Word  is  not  seen ;  it  cannot  be  seen ;  it  transcends  sense ; 
it  is  unsearchable  by  experiment ;  it  belongs  "  to  the  things 
unseen  and  eternal."     Science  is,  indeed,  most  keen ;  she 
penetrates  far ;  she  can  almost  see  molecules,  it  is  fancied, 
though  at  every  step  of  her  sounding  it  becomes  more  and/ 
more  evident  that  between  the  last  casting  of  her  lead  and 
that  other  distant  shore,  where  nature  and  matter  begin, 
there  still  flows  on  a  silent,  undiscovered  ocean  of  the  vast 
unknown.     How  near  that  other  shore  may  be,  or  how  far 
off,  this  too  is  a  part  of  the  unknown  and  the  unknowable 
secret  that  baffles  all  her  efforts.     Granting  that  she  has 
seen  molecules,  or  molecules  of  molecules,  or  "  molecular 
combinations,"  as  they  have  been  styled,  or  anything  else 
to  which  can  be  applied  this  wholly  imaginary  and  artifi- 
cial nomenclature,  yet  atoms  still  remain  invisible.     Those 
old  puzzlers  of  the  earliest  as  well  as  of  the  latest  minds 
do  still  lie  fathoms  deep  beneath  her  keenest  lens.     In 
other  words,  those  beginnings  of  organization  where  life 
dwelleth,  or  is  supposed  to  dwell,  are  as  yet  immeasurably 
remote  from  the  most  powerful  analysis  she  can  employ. 
Our  modern  investigations  have  not  reached  this  organiz- 
ing energy ;  they  fall  short  of  it  by  an  unknown  and  un- 
knowable   distance ;    they    have   therefore    furnished   no 
stronger  objections  to  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  than  such  as  were  familiar  to  Celsus,  or  even  to  the 
Corinthian  Sophist  whom  Paul  seems  to  have  had  in  view, 
and  who  so  confidently  asked,  "  With  what  body  do  they 
come  ?  "     In  other  words,  the  old  difficulty  suggested  by 
that  evident  fact,  the  constant  flow  and  change  of  matter, 
or  of  material  identity,  before  as  well  as  after  death,  was 
as  clear  to  the  little  science  of  the  old  infidel  as  it  is  to  the 
great  science  of  the  new.     That  sharp  alternative  issue : 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTICE.  jx 

Does  the  organization  come  from  the  life  or  the  life  from  the 
organization,  whether  in  the  highest  or  the  lowest  forms — 
this  sharp  alternative,  we  say,  is  no  nearer  being  settled 
now  than  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  ancient  hylozoists.  The 
whole  question  of  the  resurrection,  or  the  making  again  to 
exist  what  had  existed  before,  is  involved  in  the  same 
science-transcending  mystery  as  the  fact  of  creation,  or  the 
making  that  to  be  which  before  had  never  been  at  all.  It 
is  the  same  mystery,  whether  it  regards  the  origin  of  the 
material,  the  origin  of  the  form,  or  the  origin  and  perpe- 
tuity of  that  which  constitutes  the  hidden  principle 
whether  of  material  or  formal  identity.  We  do  not  say 
the  problem  is  solved.  All  that  need  be  contended  for  is, 
that  it  remains  just  where  it  was.  The  modern  infidel  has 
here  no  advantage  over  the  ancient  unbeliever.  We  may 
safely  defy  any  man  to  show  wherein  the  position  of  the 
argument  has,  in  this  respect,  undergone  any  essential 
change. 

Dr.  Nott,  it  is  true,  does  not  go  at  all  into  these  physical 
matters.  The  historical  argument  is  the  one  on  which  he 
dwells,  and  that  is  the  same  which  has,  in  substance,  been 
always  used  in  the  Church.  There  is  nothing  new  except 
in  his  mode  of  presenting  it,  and  that  consists  more  in  the 
oratorical  earnestness  displayed  than  in  any  affectation  of 
argumentative  order.  Reduced,  however,  to  a  more  logical 
form,  it  may  be  stated  in  some  such  way  as  this : — 

First  ground :  That  the  disciples  and  other  witnesses 
of  Christ's  resurrection  should  have  been  imposed  upon  in 
regard  to  a  fact,  or  series  of  facts,  falling  so  directly  under 
the  observation  of  the  senses  in  their  most  familiar  exer- 
cise— is  incredible. 

Second  ground :  Designed  imposture  on  their  part, 
when  considered  in  connection  with  their  subsequent  lives, 
is — still  more  incredible. 

Third  ground :  The  sudden  change  in  the  spiritual 
character  and   in   the    corresponding  action  of  the  first 


X  INTRODUCTORY   NOTICE. 

preachers  of  Christianity,  demands  for  its  credible  cause 
no  less  an  event,  or  one  no  less  superhuman  and  miracu- 
lous, than  that  assigned, — namely,  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  showing  its  first  effects  in  a  revivifying  of  their 
souls,  and  an  entire  remoulding  of  their  lives. 

Fourth  ground  :  The  great  spiritual  miracle  of  the  early 
and  rapid  spread  of  Christianity,  or  of  the  new  life — as 
truly  new  as  any  physical  revivification — coming  from  no 
previous  human  development,  and  continuing,  even  down 
to  the  preacher's  time,  to  reanimate  and  renew  the  souls 
of  men. 

It  is  the  latter  aspect  which  is  chiefly  dwelt  upon  in  the 
discourses  that  follow  the  first  presentation  of  the  argu- 
ment. There  may  be  in  it  a  neglect  of  method ;  there  is 
some  repetition ;  but  the  appeal,  as  a  whole,  is  clearly  and 
powerfully  made.  It  gives  the  preacher  an  opportunity  to 
dwell  on  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  in  his  own  times,  and 
especially  on  some  revival  scenes  in  the  College  and  else- 
where, that  had  called  out  an  intense  interest.  He  treats 
it  all  as  a  continuance  of  the  resurrection  power.  The 
spiritual  miracles  attest  the  great  physical  miracle  of  the 
Saviour's  actual  rising  from  the  tomb.  It  was  an  unbro- 
ken effect,  commencing  with  the  early  morning  dawn  of 
Christianity,  when,  from  that  sealed  sepulchre, 

The  light  broke  forth  so  gloriously, 

and  continuing  ever  since  to  shine,  though  often  obscured 
by  the  storm  and  darkness  of  human  depravity  it  has  had 
to  encounter.  "  Its  outgoing  is  to  the  ends  of  the  earth," 
until  "  nothing  shall  be  hid  from  the  enlightening  beams 
and  the  warming  heat  thereof." 

Such  is  the  argument.  It  is  not  new,  but  it  is  unan- 
swerable. Gibbon  has  not  shaken  it.  Strauss  and  Renan 
— inferior  men  to  Gibbon — have,  in  no  respect,  changed 
its  force.  The  objections  are  the  same.  The  statements 
of  historical  fact  by  which  they  are  met  are  the  same. 
1* 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTICE.  XI 

The  immutable  verities  of  human  nature  that  give  the 
argument  its  great  power  remain  the  same.  They  have 
not  been  in  the  least  affected  by  all  the  show  of  criticism 
brought  to  bear  against  them. 

Tayler  Lewis. 

Union  CoDege,  Schenectady,  Dec.  22,  1871. 


THE    RESURRECTION. 


THE    EVANGELICAL    TESTIMONY. 

Wfiereof  He  hath  given  assurance  to  all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead.     Acts  xvii.  31. 

Who  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men  ?  You 
shall  hear:  "And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God 
winked  at,  but  now  commandeth  all  men,  everywhere, 
to  repent."  Why  now  ?  "  Because  He  hath  appointed 
a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righte- 
ousness by  that  man  whom  He  hath  ordained."  How 
know  we  this  ?  He  hath  given  assurance  of  it.  In 
what  manner  hath  he  given  assurance  ?  In  that  He 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

To  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  Paul  appeals  as 
furnishing,  not  presumptive  merely,  but  indubitable 
evidence  of  a  future  judgment.  Mark  his  words : 
Whereof  He  hath  given  assurance.  The  same  appeal 
may  be  made  in  respect  to  every  evangelical  doctrine. 
The  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  basis  on  which 
Christianity  was  reared,  and  on  which  it  rests.  This 
fact  disproved,  the  basis  vanishes,  and  the  superstruc- 
ture, however  perfect,  sublime,  glorious  it  may  be, 
has  nothing  to  support  it.  It  crumbles  into  dust. 
The  subversion  of  this  single  doctrine  subverts  Chris- 
tianity.    It  clouds  our  temporal  prospects ;  it  extin- 


8  THE    RESURRECTION. 

guishes  our  eternal  hopes.  There  remains  no  sacrifice 
for  sin,  no  promise  of  forgiving  mercy  to  the  sinner. 

If,  then,  Christ  be  not  risen,  Christians,  your  faith  is 
vain  ;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins. 

If  Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  he  not  the  Messiah 
foretold  by  the  prophets,  and  promised  to  the  fathers  ; 
concerning  whom  it  is  written  that  he  should  die  not 
only,  but  live  and  reign  forever.  David  declares  this 
expressly  ;  so  does  Isaiah ;  so  do  all  the  prophets : 
"  Thou  art  my  son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee ;  ask 
of  me  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine 
inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron ;  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's 
vessel.  Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  kings  ;  be  in- 
structed, ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Serve  the  Lord  with 
fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling.  Kiss  the  son  lest 
he  be  angry  and  ye  perish  from  the  way  when  his 
wrath  is  kindled.  Blessed  are  they  that  put  their 
trust  in  him.  Therefore  my  heart  is  glad,  my  glory 
rejoiceth,  and  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope.  For  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  Hades ;  neither  wilt  thou 
suffer  thine  holy  one  to  see  corruption.  Thou  wilt 
show  me  the  path  of  life.  In  thy  presence  is  fulness 
of  joy,  and  at  thy  right  hand  are  pleasures  for  ever- 
more. The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my 
right  hand  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool. 
The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent :  Thou  art 
a  priest  forever,  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec.  I 
shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the  works  of  the 
Lord.  Thou  hast  chastened  me  sore,  but  hast  not 
given  me  over  unto  death.  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye 
gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  that 
the  Lord  of  glory  may  come  in.     Who  is  the  Lord  of 


THE     EVANGELICAL     TESTEUONY.  9 

glory  ?  The  Lord  strong  and  mighty :  the  Lord 
mighty  in  battle.  Thou,  God,  wen  test  up  with  a  shout, 
and  the  Most  High  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet." 
These  are  the  words  of  David. 

"  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried  our 
sorrows,  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of 
God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities ;  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his 
stripes  we  are  healed.  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He  was  oppressed,  he  was 
afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken 
from  prison  and  from  judgment,  and  who  shall  de- 
clare his  generation,  for  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the 
land  of  the  living.  And  he  made  his  grave  with  the 
wicked  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death.  Yet  he  shall 
prolong  his  clays,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  and  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand. 
He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall 
be  satisfied.  By  his  knowledge  shall  my  right- 
eous servant  justify  many,  for  he  shall  bear  their 
iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion 
with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the 
strong." 

Such  was  the  mysterious  prediction  of  the  rapt 
Isaiah,  uttered  ages  before  the  striking  fulfilment 
made  it  clear. 

Other  testimonies  might  be  added,  but  these  are 
enough.  The  Messiah  of  the  prophets  was  both  to 
suffer  and  to  reign.  He  was  to  triumph  over  death, 
and  the  heavens  were  afterwards  to  receive  him  back 
into  glory. 

If  Christ,  then,  be  not  risen,  his  credentials  are 
spurious,  and  his  claim  to  the  office  of  Messiah  has 


10  THE    RESURRECTION. 

failed.  If  he  has  not  risen,  his  gospel  is  a  fic- 
tion, remission  of  sin  by  his  blood,  a  dream,  and  eter- 
nal life  through  faith  in  his  name,  a  fancy.  A  doc- 
trine so  absolutely  fundamental,  a  doctrine,  too,  on 
the  truth  of  which  we  are  to  stake  our  souls,  and  put 
at  hazard  our  eternal  interests,  cannot  be  examined 
with  too  strict  a  scrutiny,  or  decided  with  too  pro- 
found a  candor. 

In  a  celebrated  discourse,  delivered  at  Athens  eigh- 
teen hundred  years  ago,  Paul,  in  the  midst  of  Epicu- 
rean and  Stoic  philosophers,  asserted  that  the  man 
Christ  Jesus  had  risen.  He  boldly  declares  it,  not 
with  the  wavering,  hesitating  timidity  which  betrays 
the  perjured  witness,  but  with  that  frank  and  fearless 
confidence  which  bespeaks  conscious  rectitude  and 
the  full  assurance  of  faith. 

But  not  on  the  testimony  of  Paul  alone  does  this 
singular  and  important  fact  depend.  There  are 
other  and  numerous  and  unimpeachable  witnesses  ; 
there  is  a  train  of  well-connected  circumstances,  cor- 
roborating their  testimony,  and  there  are  other  and 
incontrovertible  facts,  confirmino;  and  establishino- 
this  previous  fact.  The  whole  forms  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence that  carries  the  mind  with  it,  and  impels  belief. 
No  higher  evidence  can  be  required ;  none  can  be 
given  ;  because  that  already  given  involves  our  con- 
fidence in  the  divine  providence  and  the  divine  vera- 
city. I  may,  therefore,  without  rashness,  venture 
my  soul  upon  it.  If  I  am  deceived  here,  there  is 
nothing  in  which  I  am  not  liable  to  be  deceived.  If 
I  am  deceived  here,  it  is  the  sanctity  of  the  disciples' 
lives,  the  purity  of  their  doctrine,  and  the  splendor 
of  their  miracles — miracles  wrought  in  thy  name, 
Mighty  God  !  which  have  deceived  me. 


THE    EVANGELICAL     TESTIMONY.  11 

There  are  numerous  and  unimpeachable  witnesses 
to  the  fact  hi  question. 

Hear  Matthew  : — "  In  the  end  of  the  Sabbath,  as  it 
began  to  dawn  toward  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
came  Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other  Mary  to  see  the 
sepulchre.  And  behold  there  was  a  great  earthquake  : 
for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from  heaven, 
and  came  and  rolled  away  the  stone,  and  sat  upon  it. 
And  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and 
became  as  dead  men.  And  they  answered  and  said 
unto  the  women,  Fear  not  ye,  for  I  know  that  ye 
seek  Jesus  who  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here,  for  he 
is  risen  as  he  said.  Come  see  the  place  where  the 
Lord  lay.  And  as  they  went  to  tell  the  disciples, 
behold,  Jesus  met  them,  saying,  All  hail.  And  they 
came,  and  held  him  by  the  feet  and  worshipped  him. 
Then  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Be  hot  afraid ;  go  tell 
my  brethren,  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall 
they  see  me.  Then  the  eleven  disciples  went  away 
into  Galilee,  and  when  they  saw  him  they  worshipped 
him.  But  some  doubted,  and  Jesus  came  and  spake 
unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth." 

Hear  Mark  : — "  When  Jesus  was  risen  early,  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  he  appeared  unto  Mary  Magdalene, 
out  of  whom  he  had  cast  seven  devils.  After  that 
he  appeared  unto  two  of  them  in  another  form  as 
they  walked,  and  went  into  the  country.  Afterwards 
he  appeared  unto  the  eleven,  as  they  sat  at  meat,  and 
upbraided  them  with  their  hardness  of  heart,  because 
they  believed  not  them  who  had  seen  him  after  he 
had  risen." 

Hear  Luke : — "And  Jesus  himself  stood  in  the  midst 
of  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you, 


12  THE    RESURRECTION. 

and  they  were  terrified  and  affrighted,  and  supposed 
that  they  had  seen  a  spirit.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
Why  are  ye  troubled,  and  why  do  thoughts  arise  in 
your  hearts.  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it 
is  I,  myself.  Handle  me  and  see,  for  a  spirit  hath 
not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  me  have.  And  when 
he  had  thus  spoken,  he  showed  them  his  hands  and 
his  feet.  And  while  they  yet  believed  not  for  joy,  and 
wondered,  he  said,  Have  ye  here  any  meat  %  And 
they  gave  him  a  piece  of  broiled  fish,  and  of  an  honey- 
comb.    And  he  took  it  and  did  eat  before  them." 

Hear  John  : — "  The  first  day  of  the  week  cometh 
Mary  Magdalene,  early,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  unto 
the  sepulchre,  and  seeth  the  stone  taken  away  from 
the  sepulchre.  Then  she  runneth,  and  cometh  to 
Simon  Peter,  and  to  the  other  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,  and  said  unto  them :  They  have  taken  away  the 
Lord  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  we  know  not  where 
they  have  laid  him.  Peter,  therefore,  and  that  other 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved  went  forth.  And  the 
other  disciple  did  outrun  Peter.  Then  cometh  Peter, 
following  him,  and  went  into  the  sepulchre,  and  seeth 
the  linen  clothes  lie,  and  the  napkin  that  was  about 
his  head  not  lying  with  the  linen  clothes,  but  wrapped 
together  in  a  place  by  itself.  But  Mary  stood  with- 
out, at  the  sepulchre,  weeping,  and  as  she  wept,  she 
stooped  down  and  looked  into  the  sepulchre.  And 
seeth  two  angels  in  white,  sitting,  one  at  the  head,  and 
the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had 
lain.  And  they  say  unto  her,  "Woman,  why  weepest 
thou  ?  She  saith  unto  them,  Because  they  have  taken 
away  my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
him.  And  when  she  had  thus  said,  she  turned  herself 
back,  and  saw  Jesus  standing,  and  knew  not  that  it 


THE    EVANGELICAL    TESTIMONY.  13 

was  Jesus.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Woman,  why  weep- 
est  thou  ?  Whom  seekest  thou  ?  She,  supposing  him 
to  be  the  gardener,  saith  unto  him,  Sir,  if  thou  have 
borne  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  him, 
and  I  will  take  him  away.  Jesus  saith  unto  her, 
Mary.  She  turned  herself,  and  said  unto  him,  Rab- 
boni,  which  is  to  say,  Master.  Jesus  saith  unto  her, 
Touch  me  not,  for  I  have  not  yet  ascended  to  my 
Father,  but  go  to  my  brethren  and  say  unto  them,  I 
ascend  unto  my  Father,  and  to  your  Father,  to  my 
God,  and  to  your  God.  The  same  day,  at  evening, 
when  the  disciples  were  assembled,  came  Jesus,  and 
stood  in  their  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you. 
And  when  he  had  so  said,  he  shewed  them  his  hands 
and  his  side.  And  Thomas  was  not  with  them.  The 
other  disciples  said  unto  him,  We  have  seen  the  Lord. 
But  he  said  unto  them,  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands 
the  print  of  the  nails ;  and  put  my  finger  into  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side, 
I  will  not  believe." 

"Again  the  disciples  were  within,  and  Thomas  with 
them.  Then  came  Jesus,  the  door  being  shut,  and 
stood  in  the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you. 
Then  said  he  unto  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger, 
and  behold  my  hands,  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  side,  and  be  no  more  faithless  but 
believing." 

Hear  the  writer  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles — "  Jesus 
showed  himself  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infal- 
lible proofs,  being  seen  of  his  disciples  forty  days,  and 
speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while 
they  beheld,  he  was  parted  from  them,  and  a  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sisrht." 


14  THE    RESURRECTION. 

Hear  Paul — "  Christ  was  seen  of  Cephas,  then  of  the 
twelve :  after  that  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once.  After  that  he  was  seen  of  James, 
then  of  all  the  Apostles,  and  last  of  all  he  was  seen 
of  me  also,  as  of  one  born  out  of  due  time." 

It  is  the  supplement  of  the  exceedingly  brief 
account  given  Matthew  xxviii.  10,  16.  "  Then  saith 
Jesus  unto  them,  Fear  not,  go  ye  away  and  tell  it  to 
my  brethren,  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  for  there  shall 
they  see  me."  The  appointment  was  for  all  the 
brethren,  all  who  loved  him,  and  had  believed  on 
him.  The  eleven  made  known  the  promise  and  the 
place  of  meeting.  It  was  the  mountain  (see  verse  16) 
"  where  Jesus  had  appointed."  Tradition  says,  Mount 
Tabor.  Be  this  true  or  not,  it  was  a  well-known 
place,  and  thither  the  great  multitude  flocked  to 
behold  him.  "Some  doubted;"  so  it  is  declared, 
with  a  candor  unknown  to  other  histories,  but  of  the 
mass  it  is  said,  "  they  saw  and  worshipped."  A  part 
had  fallen  asleep,  but  the  majority  were  living  in 
Paul's  day. 

You  have  heard  these  several  witnesses.  Their  tes- 
timony is  full ;  it  is  circumstantial,  it  is  explicit.  They 
tell  you  that  Jesus  Christ  was  seen  of  them  alive,  after 
that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead.  That  he  was  seen 
of  them  at  different  times,  in  different  situations,  and 
at  different  places.  A  great  company  of  them  were 
assembled  at  Mount  Olivet,  when  he  delivered  his 
parting  benediction.  There  was  he  separated  from 
them,  continuing  visible  to  every  eye  as  he  ascended, 
until  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight. 

AVhat  shall  we  say  to  these  things  ?  The  number 
of  witnesses  attesting  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  sufficient  to  establish  any  fact  capable  of  being  esta- 


THE     EVANGELICAL     TESTIMONY.  15 

blished  by  testimony.  The  fact  itself,  however,  is 
too  improbable  in  its  nature,  and  too  momentous  in 
its  consequences,  to  be  admitted  merely  on  account  of 
the  number  of  witnesses  who  have  attested  it,  how 
great  soever  that  number  may  have  been.  It  were 
rash  to  risk  our  souls  on  the  credibility  of  numbers. 
When  eternal  interests  are  at  stake,  a  mortal  should 
proceed  with  caution.  It  is  not  possible,  as  we  have 
said,  to  institute  too  severe  a  scrutiny,  or  decide  with 
too  profound  a  candor. 

On  the  review  of  details  so  singular  and  so  impro- 
bable, two  suppositions  naturally  suggest  themselves. 
These  witnesses  have  been  imposed  upon,  or  they  are 
themselves  impostor's.  Either  alternative  established 
annuls  their  testimony.  Either  alternative  not  re- 
futed leaves  the  question  doubtful.  Both,  therefore, 
must  be  met  and  dissipated ;  doubt  must  be  removed, 
and  even  suspicion  put  at  rest,  before  we  yield  to  such 
details  our  entire  assent. 

These  witnesses  have  been  imposed  upon. 

All  is  not  truth  that  is  honestly  attested  as  such. 
Other  men  have  been  mistaken,  and  why  not  the 
disciples  ?  "We  will  attempt  to  answer  this  interroga- 
tion. But  let  it  be  premised  that  our  answer  will 
have  respect  only  to  the  single  fact,  the  resurrection. 

With  respect  to  this  one  fact,  we  affirm,  that  they 
were  not  mistaken,  because  it  is  not  possible  that  they 
could  have  been.  No  source  of  error  can  be  pointed 
out ;  none  can  even  be  imagined.  Shall  it  be  looked 
for  in  their  passions  and  prejudices  ;  in  their  organs 
of  perception,  or  in  their  want  of  understanding; 
shall  we  seek  it  in  the  nature  of  the  fact,  or  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  they  examined  it  %     It  may 


16  THE    RESURRECTION. 

"be  sought  in  each  and  in  all  of  these,  but  it  will  be 
fo  und  in  none.  It  is  admitted  that  they  were  fallible. 
It  is  also  admitted  that  among  all  who  are  so,  passion 
and  prejudice  have  a  wonderful  influence,  both  in 
facilitating  and  in  obstructing  belief.  Hence  at  one 
time  faith  is  yielded  to  the  slightest  evidence,  at 
another,  it  is  withheld  from  the  strongest.  Apply 
this  to  the  disciples.  They  were  Jews ;  they  had  been 
educated  in  the  synagogues ;  they  had  drunk  deep  in 
the  prevalent  opinion  that  the  Messiah  was  to  be  a 
temporal  prince,  and  his  kingdom  a  temporal  kingdom 
— an  opinion  which,  counteracted  as  it  was  by  their 
Master,  still  tinctured  all  their  conversations,  and  gave 
a  direction  to  all  their  actions.  Hence,  only  the  night 
before  the  passion,  had  they  not  been  restrained,  they 
would  have  erected  the  standard  of  empire,  and  ap- 
pealed to  the  sword. 

It  was  the  splendor  of  the  Saviour's  miracles  that 
first  attracted  their  attention,  and  that  afterwards 
attached  them  to  his  cause.  The  idea  of  teacher  was 
merged  in  that  of  conqueror  /  a  conqueror  rendered 
invincible  by  power  miraculous,  and  who,  as  they  had 
hitherto  believed,  was  at  that  time  to  assume  the  gov- 
ernment, and  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel.  The 
event  subverted  their  belief,  disappointed  their  expec- 
tation, and  dissipated  forever  their  dream  of  a  tem- 
poral royalty.  When  they  saw  Jesus  Christ  appre- 
hended without  resistance,  and  led  without  rescue,  like 
a  lamb,  defenceless  to  the  slaughter,  their  confidence 
was  shaken  ;  their  fortitude  gave  way  ;  hope  forsook 
them ;  abandoning  the  cause,  they  left  the  captain  of 
their  salvation  to  his  fate,  and  fled.  It  was  a  moment 
of  utter  dereliction.  No  one  ventured  to  assert  his 
innocence  at  the  bar  of  Pilate ;  no  one  dared  to  murmur 


THE     EVANGELICAL     TESTIMONY.  17 

discontent  at  the  scene  on  Calvary.  And  why  ?  Be- 
cause the  same  stroke  which  nailed  Christ's  body  to  the 
cross,  nailed  with  it  his  disciples'  hopes.  All  was  given 
up  as  lost.  Timid,  palpitating,  and  despised,  they 
shunned  the  public  eye,  and  sought  safety  only  in 
concealment. 

The  resurrection  had  indeed  been  intimated  to 
them,  but  it  had  not  been  understood.  Nor  was  it  ex- 
pected. That  he  who  had  just  been  vanquished  by  his 
enemies — he  who  had  thus  forfeited  their  confidence 
by  forfeiting,  in  their  opinion,  his  claim  to  the  office 
of  Messiah — that  he  should,  after  this  recent  and  utter 
humiliation,  suddenly  become  a  victor,  not  only  over 
those  who  had  conquered  him,  but  also  over  death,  by 
whom  all  are  conquered,  seemed  incredible.  His 
triumphant  reappearance  from  the  sepulchre  was  an 
event  which  they  did  not  anticipate,  and  were  not  pre- 
pared to  celebrate. 

The  rumor  that  he  had  so  appeared  excited  interest ; 
it  awakened  alarm,  but  did  not  restore  confidence :  it 
did  not  acqivire  belief. 

With  the  most  wary  caution,  each  disciple  examined 
for  himself ;  and  with  a  hesitancy  bordering  rather  on 
skepticism  than  credulity,  they  yielded  to  evidence 
the  most  incontrovertible  their  tardy  assent.  One  of 
them  would  not  be  persuaded  until  he  had  put  his 
finger  into  the  prints  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  his  hand 
into  his  side.  They  insisted  on  evidence  which  would 
enable  them  to  say,  "  That  which  we  have  heard  from 
the  beginning,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes, 
which  we  have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have 
handled  of  the  word  of  Life — that  which  we  have 
seen  declare  we  unto  you." 

Be  it  so,  that  neither  their  passions  nor  their  pre- 


13  THE    RESURRECTION. 

judices  were  to  the  disciples  a  source  of  error,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  that  both  operated  against  an  admission 
of  the  resurrection.  Be  it  so,  that  their  late  grievous 
disappointment  had  taught  them  caution,  and  made 
them  tremblingly  alive  to  whatever  might  possibly 
again  involve  them  in  disgrace,  or  further  compromit 
their  personal  safety,  still  might  they  have  been  mis- 
taken, it  may  be  said — neither  their  organs  of  percep- 
tion nor  their  understanding  were  infallible. 

They  were  unlearned  men,  mere  fishermen  and  tent- 
makers,  and  therefore  incompetent  to  decide  on  the 
case  in  question. 

Fishermen  and  tent-makers  indeed  they  were,  and 
for  the  most  part  unlearned  too,  but  how  does  that 
affect  their  competency  ?  I  mean  their  competency 
so  far  as  respects  the  ascertainment  of  their  Master's 
resurrection.  In  the  prosecution  of  such  an  inquest 
the  profoundest  erudition  would  have  availed  them 
nothing.  There  were  no  probabilities  to  balance  ;  no 
contradictory  testimony  to  reconcile ;  no  web  of  arti- 
fice to  unravel.  No  arguments  were  to  be  examined  ; 
no  premises  to  be  consulted ;  no  conclusions  to  be 
drawn.  A  mere  fact,  and  a  fact,  too,  the  most  obvious, 
and  the  l§ast  equivocal  that  can  be  conceived  or  im- 
agined, is  submitted  to  the  deliberate  and  repeated 
examination  of  their  own  eyes,  their  own  ears,  their 
own  sense  of  feeling ;  and  having  been  so  submitted, 
the  only  thing  to  be  by  them  decided  is,  whether  such 
fact  did  or  did  not  exist.  Now,  with  respect  to  the 
existence  of  this  fact,  unlettered  as  the  disciples  may 
have  been,  they  were  competent  to  decide — competent, 
not  perhaps  to  appreciate  the  incidental  evidence ;  not 
perhaps  to  collect  and  arrange  and  weigh  the  concur- 


THE    EVANGELICAL     TESTIMONY.  19 

rent  testimony  of  other  witnesses  ;  but  competent  to 
determine  for  themselves,  and  by  the  unerring  indi- 
cation of  their  own  senses ;  competent  to  determine, 
with  a  certitude  that  all  the  counter-suggestions  of 
men  and  devils  could  not  shake,  whether  Jesus  Christ, 
having  been  dead  and  buried,  appeared  again  alive 
to  them  on  the  earth.     Yes,  the  fact  of  his  reappear- 
ance from  the  sepulchre  was,  to  his  disciples,  not  a 
matter  of  opinion,  not  a  matter  of  persuasion,  not  even 
a  matter  of  belief,  but  of  knowledge.     They  had  the 
means  of  knowing ;  nay,  they  were  under  the  necessity 
of  knowing.    They  must  therefore  know,  and  they  did 
know  absolutely,  and  without  the  possibility  of  mis- 
take, whether  he  did  so  reappear.     Yes,  wdl  they 
knew  whether  they  heard  him  speak,  saw  him  move, 
eat,  and  drink  ;  whether  they  handled  him  to  ascertain 
that  it  was  not  a  spectre,  and  found  those  very  wounds 
which  the  nails  and  spear  had  imprinted  on  his  body. 
They  knew  whether,  having  been  disheartened  and 
dispersed  by  his  death,  they  rallied  around  him  a 
second  time  as  their  Leader,  and  continued  for  forty 
days  to  follow  his  fortunes,  to  attend  upon  his  ministry, 
and  receive  his  directions.     And,  finally,  they  knew 
whether  they  accompanied  him  to  Olivet,  and  there 
saw  him  in  daylight  visibly  ascend  toward  heaven  till 
a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight. 

These  are  things  which,  if  indeed  they  existed,  the 
disci j)les  knew,  and  could  not  help  knowing.  These 
are  things  in  the  ascertainment  of  which  the  intuition 
of  sages,  nay,  the  perspicuity  of  seraphs,  could  have 
benefited  them  nothing.  As  we  have  said,  therefore, 
with  reference  to  this  one  fact — their  Master's  resur- 
rection— the  disciples,  unlettered  as  they  may  have 
been,  were  competent  witnesses.     Nay,  they  were  the 


20  THE    EESUKKECTION. 

most  competent  witnesses.  I  had  almost  said  the  only 
competent  ones.  For  who  could  tell  with  the  greater 
certainty  whether  Jesus  Christ  had  arisen  from  the 
dead,  his  own  disciples,  or  indifferent  persons  ?  Those 
who  knew  him  well  and  long,  or  those  or  knew  him 
not,  or  knew  him  but  imperfectly  ? 

Other  witnesses  have  been  adduced  in  support  of 
the  resurrection.  It  is  sufficient  here  to  give  their 
names  and  cite  their  words,  though  not  as  witnesses 
in  chief,  or  as  those  on  whom  I  place  the  main  reli- 
ance. As  first  in  this  subordinate  class,  there  may  be 
given  the  words  of  a  well-known  and  almost  contem- 
porary historian.  "  At  this  time  there  was  one  Jesus, 
a  wise  man,  if  I  may  call  him  man  ;  for  he  did  most 
wonderful  works,  and  was  a  teacher  of  those  who 
received  the  truth  with  delight.  He  won  many  to  his 
persuasion,  both  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles.  This  was 
Christ,  and  although  he  was,  at  the  instigation  of  some 
of  our  nation,  and  by  Pilate's  sentence,  suspended  on 
the  cross,  yet  those  who  loved  him  at  first  did  not  cease 
to  love  him :  for  he  came  to  life  again  the  third  day, 
and  appeared  to  them." 

This  testimony  of  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  was 
claimed  and  quoted  by  the  fathers ;  it  has  been  claimed 
and  quoted  by  the  moderns ;  its  genuineness  is  sup- 
ported by  the  strongest  evidence,  internal  and  exter- 
nal, but  Ave  rely  not  chiefly  upon  it  here  ;  it  is  not  as 
primary  evidence  that  we  quote  it. 

Again,  the  "  Acts  of  Pilate,"  transmitted  to  Tibe- 
rius Caesar,  detailing  the  circumstances  of  the  trial, 
the  death,  and  the  resurrection  of  that  just  man,  con- 
cerning whom,  at  the  time  of  his  condemnation,  he 
declared,  /  find  no  fault  in  him ;  these  "  Acts  of 
Pilate  "  have  been  claimed  and  quoted.     Doubts  have 


THE    EYANGELICAI,    TESTIMONY.  21 

indeed  been  thrown  upon  its  authenticity,  but  nothing 
could  have  been  more  in  harmony  with  the  well-kin  >\vn 
course  of  Roman  judicial  proceedings  than  such  a 
transmitted  report.  That  no  record  should  have  been 
kept  would,  on  the  other  hand,  seem  almost  incredible. 

Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  about  a  century  after  the 
Saviour's  death,  and  who  offered  to  dispute  the  ques- 
tion of  Christianity  with  the  Cynic  philosopher,  before 
the  Roman  Senate,  confidently  appeals  in  his  apology 
to  the  Acts  of  Pontius  Pilate,  and  even  refers  the 
Emperor  to  them  for  information  relative  to  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Fifty  years  thereafter,  Tertullian,  a  convert  from 
Paganism,  and  a  man  learned  in  the  Eoman  law, 
makes  a  like  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  Pilate, 
and  even  to  the  acts  of  the  Senate,  predicated  on 
that  testimony,  and  preserved  among  the  public 
archives. 

But  neither  is  this  record  claimed  or  quoted  as  pri- 
mary or  the  most  satisfying  evidence. 

I  need  not  lay  the  stress  of  the  argument  upon  what 
Josephus  testifies  concerning  Christ's  reappearance. 
Josephus  never  saw  Jesus  Christ.  I  may  say  the  same 
of  Pilate's  or  Herod's  testimony  concerning  Christ's 
reappearance.  They  saw  him  only  while  under  arrest, 
and  for  a  few  moments  at  the  judgment-seat.  I  care 
not  what  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  may  afiirm  or  deny 
concerning  the  reappearance  of  Jesus  Christ — they 
had  seldom  seen  him,  and  only  on  public  occasions, 
and  amidst  the  multitude.  Though  all  these,  though 
the  whole  Sanhedrim,  and  only  these,  were  to  assert 
his  resurrection,  we  might  doubt.  For  all  these,  con- 
science-smitten as  they  were,  like  the  murderer  of  John 
•  the  Baptist,  might  mistake  another  for  Him  whom  they 


22  THE    RESURRECTION. 

had  taken,  and  with  wicked  hands  had  crucified  and 
slain. 

What  they  affirm  may  indeed  possibly  be   true. 
But  I  cannot  be  assured  that  it  is  so  ;  for  I  cannot  con- 
fide in  their  discrimination.     Apart  from  these,  there 
are   other   and  less   objectionable   witnesses.     Why 
are  they  withheld  ?     If  I  must  decide  whether  Jesus 
Christ  be  risen  from  the  dead,  and  if  to  decide  cor- 
rectly be  of  moment,  why  mock  my  efforts  by  present- 
ing the  depositions  of  Herod,  or  Pilate,  or  Caiaphas? 
These  are  not  the  persons  that  can  resolve  my  doubts 
and  settle  my  faith.     Whether  this  mysterious  per- 
sonage, coming  professedly  from  the  sepulchre,  and 
the  rumor  of  whose  reappearance  has  filled  Jerusalem 
with  terror,  whether  this  be  in  very  deed  that  same 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  was  crucified ;  this  is  a  point 
on  which,  before  I  decide,  I  want  to  hear  Matthew, 
and  Mark,  and  Peter,  and  James.     I  want  to  hear 
the  two  Marys  who  met  him  at  the  sepulchre.     I 
want  to  interrogate  the  beloved  John,  who  has  leaned 
so  often  on  his  bosom,  and  the  cautious,  scrutinizing 
Diclymus,  who   refused   belief  till  he  should  have 
examined  his  side  and  his  hands.     Away,  therefore, 
with  Herod,  and  Pilate,  and  Caiaphas ;  away  with  the 
Scribes,  and   Pharisees,  and   Sanhedrim.      Let   the 
disciples  be  brought  forward.     They  know,  and  can 
tell  infallibly  whether  he,  concerning  whom  I  am 
inquiring,  is  that  same   adored  Master  whom  they 
once   owned   and  honored   before  his  passion,  and 
whom,  restored  from  the  tomb,  they  still  own  and 
honor.     If  they  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  has.  risen 
from  the  dead,  /  believe  also  :  for  this  is  a  point  in 
which,  though  all  the  world  besides  should  be  de- 
ceived, it  is  impossible  that  they  should  be.     And 


THE     EVANGELICAL    TESTIMONY.  23 

yet  these  witnesses  are  objected  to  as  incompetent. 
What,  Christ's  own  disciples  ?  Ah  !  were  the  author- 
ities on  this  question  of  life  and  death  reversed ;  did 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  and  the  Sanhedrim  appear 
in  favor  of,  and  the  disciples,  together  with  the  con- 
course of  brethren  from  Olivet,  against  the  resurrec- 
tion, which  would  be  deemed  the  most  competent 
witnesses  ;  which  would  be  believed  ? 

Nay,  if  in  opposition  to  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
there  appeared  only  one  of  Christ's  disciples,  the  rest 
remaining  silent,  be  that  one  disciple  Matthew,  or 
John,  or  Thomas,  or  any  other  of  the  eleven — I  repeat 
it,  if  only  one  of  these  appeared,  and,  confronting  the 
crowd  of  strangers,  declared  that  the  person  in  ques- 
tion was  not  his  Master,  but  some  unknown  impostor, 
whom  the  brethren  owned  not  and  would  never  own, 
he  would  be  believed  ;  his  single  denial  of  the  fact 
would  go  further  to  shake  the  faith  of  an  inquirer 
than  the  denial  of  the  whole  Jewish  nation.  Yes,  his 
single  denial  would  weigh  against,  and  it  ought  to 
weigh  against,  all  the  thousands  of  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem. To  say  the  least,  therefore,  the  disciples  were 
competent  witnesses. 

Competent  indeed  they  were,  it  must  be  admitted, 
because  not  ignorance,  but  idiocy  or  derangement, 
could  have  rendered  them  otherwise,  where  common 
sense  and  those  organs  of  perception  common  to  the 
species  constitute  the  only  competency.  Still,  how- 
ever, though  neither  their  understandings  nor  their 
organs  were  inadequate,  a  source  of  error  may  have 
existed  in  the  presentation  of  the  case.  In  other 
words — 

The  fact  itself  may  never  have  come  fairly  and 
fully  under  their  examination. 


24  THE    IlESCKKECTION. 

A  transient  and  obscure  appearance  sometimes  de- 
ceives the  most  sagacious.  But  the  appearance  in 
question  was  neither  transient  nor  obscure.  What 
say  the  witnesses  themselves  ?  After  Jesus  Christ  had 
arisen  from  the  dead  he  appeared  to  them,  not  when 
alone  and  in  darkness  only,  but  when  assembled  and 
in  daylight  also.  How  often  he  appeared  to  them 
they  have  not  told  us,  and  we  know  not.  But  they 
have  told  us  of  his  appearing  to  some  of  them  at  least 
twelve  different  times ;  twice  at  or  near  the  sepul- 
chre, again  and  again  to  the  apostles,  and  once,  on 
a  mountain  in  Galilee,  to  about  live  hundred  of  the 
brethren.  More  than  this,  that  he  showed  himself  to 
be  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infallible  proofs ; 
being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the 
things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom.  That  with  some  of 
them  he  travelled  ;  that  with  others  he  ate  and  drank ; 
that  to  others  he  exposed  the  prints  the  nails  had  left 
in  his  hands,  and  the  wound  the  spear  had  inflicted 
in  his  side.  I 

Here,  then,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  wit- 
nesses themselves,  there  could  have  been  no  decep- 
tion. Their  opportunity  for  examining  the  fact  was 
the  best  that  can  be  imagined ;  the  fact  itself,  the 
most  obvious,  and  the  signs  by  which  its  existence 
was  indicated,  the  least  equivocal.  There  are  inci- 
dents in  this  narrative  of  the  Saviour's  resurrection 
and  reappearance  which,  if  indeed  they  took  place, 
as  the  disciples  affirm  they  did,  must  have  been  de- 
cisive. They  are  incidents  that  carry  conviction  with 
them,  and  preclude  alike  the  possibility  of  doubt  or 
deception.  To  talk  of  stronger  evidence,  or  of  better 
opportunity,  is  worse  than  trifling :  it  is  insanity. 
What  stronger  evidence,  what  better  opportunity 
could  even  the  sternest  incredulity  suggest? 


THE   EVANGELICAL   TESTIMONY.  25 

Thomas  withstood  for  a  time  the  testimony  of  his 
brethren  ;  but  even  Thomas,  when  his  revered  master 
presented  himself  before  him,  stretching  forth  his 
transfixed  hands,  and  throwing  back  the  mantle  from 
his  scar-marked  side — even  Thomas,  with  all  his 
characteristic  scepticism — demanded  nothing  more 
decisive. 

Placing  his  finger  on  the  print  of  the  nails,  and 
thrusting  his  hand  into  the  wound  of  the  spear,  in  a 
burst  of  rapturous  confidence  he  exclaimed,  My  Lord 
and  my  God!  From  that  moment  his  unbelief  van- 
ished ;  nor  was  he  ever  afterwards  faithless,  but  be- 
lieving. 

Was  even  Thomas  imposed  upon  1  The  fact,  too, 
did  it  come  fairly  under  his  examination?  Be  it 
here  remembered  that  the  death  and  burial  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  not  disputed.  On  these  points,  the  execu- 
tioners, the  spectators,  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  the 
elders,  the  whole  Jewish  nation  have  appeared  in 
evidence.  It  is  his  reappearance  from  the  sepulchre 
alive,  and  that  only,  which  is  called  in  question. 

Now,  is  this  a  point  difficult  of  ascertainment ;  or 
by  what  abstruse  criterion,  apart  from  common  obser- 
vation and  unknown  to  common  sense,  would  objec- 
tors wish  it  to  have  been  ascertained  ?  If  travelling 
on  foot  from  place  to  place ;  if  conversing  on  differ- 
ent subjects ;  if  giving  salutations  of  friendship ;  if 
accepting  acts  of  homage ;  in  one  word,  if  abiding, 
and  eating,  and  drinking  with  his  disciples  ;  if  these 
be  not  infallible  proofs  of  life,  what  proofs  would  be 
infallible  ?  Again,  if  access  to  and  intercourse  with 
the  personage  furnishing  these  proofs,  during  forty 
days  successively,  did  not  afford  a  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity for  ascertaining  whether  he  was  alive  or  not ;  is 


26  THE    EESUERECTIOSr. 

there  any  supposable  situation  within  the  range  of 
possibility,  in  which  an  inquirer  could  be  placed,  that 
would  afford  such  an  opportunity  ?  Could  Thomas, 
with  the  beloved  form  of  his  Divine  Master  full 
before  him,  still  bearing  on  his  body  the  obvious  and 
well-known  marks  of  his  recent  crucifixion,  could 
Thomas  have  been  furnished  with  any  better  oppor- 
tunity or  any  stronger  evidence  ?  No,  unless  the  con- 
stitution of  nature  were  changed,  the  opportunity 
already  furnished  was  the  best,  and  the  evidence  the 
strongest  that  man  could  have  or  God  could  give. 

Collect  these  observations,  and  see  how  they  bear 
upon  the  point  in  question.  Consider  the  previous 
opinions  and  prejudices  of  the  witnesses;  consider 
the  qualifications  of  the  witnesses  ;  consider  the  situ- 
ation of  the  witnesses;  consider  the  nature  of  the 
fact  at  issue  ;  the  resurrection  of  their  Master,  with 
whom  they  had  been  for  years  previous  to  his  death 
in  habits  of  the  tenderest  intimacy,  and  who  after- 
wards appeared  to  them  again  alive,  and  continued 
so  to  appear  for  forty  days,  assuming  all  his  former 
authority,  exercising  all  his  former  functions,  and  in- 
structing them  in  the  things  pertaining  to  the  king- 
dom of  God,  till  finally,  standing  in  the  midst  of 
them  on  the  mountain  top,  the  heavens,  from  whence 
he  came,  opened  and  received  him  back  to  glory. 

Consider  these  things,  and  then  say  whether  it  is 
possible  for  the  disciples,  entertaining  such  opinions, 
swayed  by  such  prejudices,  possessed  of  such  facul- 
ties, placed  in  such  a  situation,  and  concerning  such 
a  fact,  whether  it  is  possible  for  them  to  have  been 
imposed  upon. 

Imposition  is  out  of  the  question.  The  circum- 
stances of  the  inquest  admit  of  none  ;  the  nature  of 


THE   EVANGELICAL   TESTIMONY.  27 

the  inquest  admits  of  none.  It  respected  an  audible, 
a  visible,  and  a  tangible  object.  An  object,  too, 
placed  in  the  light  of  day,  and  subjected  to  the  scru- 
tiny of  senses  long  familiarized  to  it,  and  perfectly 
acquainted  with  its  discriminating  and  distinctive 
marks.  If  Jesus  Christ  did  not,  after  his  passion, 
appear  again  alive  to  his  disciples,  they  knew  that  he 
did  not,  and  the  whole  story  of  his  resurrection  was 
an  abominable  and  a  premeditated  lie,  of  which  they 
were  the  voluntary  and  guilty  authors. 

This  alternative,  therefore,  I  consider  put  at  rest. 
The  disciples  were  not  imposed  upon ;  if  there  is 
imposition,  they  know  it ;  more  than  this — they  are 
the  authors  of  it ;  they  are  the  guilty  authors  of  it, 
and  must  be  responsible  to  God  and  to  the  universe 
for  all  the  fatal  consequences  which  may  result  there- 
from to  society,  to  themselves,  and  to  the  souls  of 
other  men. 


II. 


DESIGNED   IMPOSTUKE   INCREDIBLE. 

Whereof  He  hath  given  assurance  to  all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead.    Acts  xvii.  31. 

In  the  preceding  discourse  we  have  examined  and 
disproved  the  possibility  of  one  of  the  alternatives 
suggested  to  invalidate  the  testimony  in  favor  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  may,  therefore,  be 
assumed  as  settled,  that  the  witnesses  were  not  im- 
posed %ipon. 

Then,  they  are  themselves  impostors.  This  is  the 
other  alternative ;  and  if  the  possibility  of  this,  too, 
cannot  be  disproved,  then  let  faith  be  withheld  from 
them,  and  infidelity  be  blameless.  But,  how  can  the 
possibility  of  this  be  disproved  ?     I  answer  : — 

The  place,  the  time,  the  manner  in  which  the  resur- 
rection was  promulgated  ;  the  number  of  individuals 
concerned  in  the  promulgation ; '  the  system  of  doc- 
trines and  of  duties  founded  on  it ;  the  splendid  enter- 
prise projected  in  consequence  of  it;  the  heroic  con- 
stancy with  which  that  enterprise  was  executed,  and 
the  exemplary  lives  of  the  witnesses  who  took  the  lead 
in  its  execution,  render  imposture  improbable ;  and  to 
crown  the  argument,  the  course  of  action  without 
motive,  or  rather  in  opposition  to  motive,  which  this 
supposes  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  man,  and  there- 
fore impossible. 

The  place,  the  time,  the  manner  in  which  the  resur- 
rection was  promulgated. 

It  was  not  some  obscure  and  remote  village  in 
Palestine,  but  Jerusalem,  the  capital  itself,  that  was 
selected  as  the  theatre  of  this  dangerous  enterprise ; 


DESIGNED    IMPOSTURE    INCREDIBLE.  29 

the  very  place  which  had  been  the  theatre  of  the 
crucifixion  ;  the  very  place  that  contained  the  means 
of  detection ;  the  very  place  that  furnished  the  motives 
of  detection.  There  the  accusers  of  Jesus  Christ 
reside  ;  there  his  judges  reside;  there  his  executioners 
reside  ;  men  whose  honor  is  concerned  ;  men  whose 
passions  are  excited,  and  whom  every  public  and 
every  personal  consideration  must  impel  to  detect 
and  expose  an  imposture  calculated  to  fix  guilt  upon 
their  consciences,  and  cover  with  eternal  infamy  their 
memories. 

The  time  and  the  manner  were  as  unpropitious  as 
the  place.  ISTo  respite  was  allowed  for  suspicion  to  be 
laid  asleep,  or  for  the  ardor  of  that  infuriate  multitude, 
who  demanded  his  crucifixion,  to  subside. 

No  secrecy  was  enjoined ;  no  concealment  was 
attempted ;  no  whisper  indistinctly  circulated.  On 
the  contrary,  the  witnesses  enter  the  city  instantly ; 
they  enter  it  openly,  and  there  publicly  and  boldly 
announce  the  resurrection  of  their  Master  •  announce 
that  they  themselves  have  seen  him ;  that  he  has  been 
seen  by  others,  and  by  multitudes  to  whom  without 
fear  of  contradiction  they  appeal.  When  did  impos- 
ture ever  attain  its  object  by  such  a  direct,  such  an 
incautious  and  intrepid  march  ?  Had  the  resurrection 
been  a  falsehood,  would  the  authors  of  it  have  chosen 
such  a  time,  or  such  a  place,  or  such  a  manner  for 
palming  it  upon  the  world  ?  Above  all,  conscious  of 
the  falsehood  themselves,  would  they  have  appealed 
for  its  truth  to  five  hundred  persons,  and  thus  have 
put  it  in  the  power  of  their  adversaries  to  confront 
them  with  this  host  of  witnesses,  who,  if  Jesus  Christ 
had  not  risen,  and  if  they  had  not  seen  him,  must  give 
the  lie  to  the  insidious  declaration  % 


30  THE    EESUEEECTION. 

If  these  witnesses  appealed  to  were  indifferent 
persons,  the  appeal  furnishes  the  means  of  complete 
and  unavoidable  refutation.  If  they  were  not  indif- 
ferent persons,  but  accomplices,  then  another  and  no 
less  embarrassing  difficulty  presents  itself. 

The  number  of  individuals  concerned  in  the  jyro- 
m  ligation. 

The  extreme  difficulty  of  imposing  upon  mankind 
with  respect  to  facts  which  have  recently  taken  place, 
is  sufficiently  evinced  by  the  numerous  and  repeated 
failures  that  crowd  the  page  of  history.  Not  the  deep 
hypocrisy  of  Catherine  the  Great  could  conceal  the 
circumstances  of  the  death  of  the  Emperor,  her  hus- 
band, much  as  she  desired  this ;  and  though  a  few 
chosen  confidants  only  were  intrusted  with  the  bloody 
secret.  Not  the  sullen  silence  of  a  gloomy  supersti- 
tion could  stifle  the  voice  of  truth  and  conceal,  eAren 
until  they  were  matured  into  action,  those  dark  de- 
signs which,  in  Britain,  were  so  often  entertained 
during  the  civil  wars.  Time  draws  aside  the  veil  that 
covers  the  acts  and  stratagems  of  courtiers,  and  even 
reveals  the  half-concealed  project  which  had  only  been 
alluded  to,  or  hinted  at,  in  the  council  chamber. 

But  a  secret,  intrusted  to  more  than  five  hundred 
individuals;  a  "secret,  not  the  divulging  but  the  keep- 
ing of  which  placed  in  jeopardy  the  life  of  each  one 
to  whom  it  was  intrusted — a  secret  confided,  not  to 
courtiers,  not  to  priests  trained  to  reserve,  and  used 
in  all  the  arts  of  duplicity  and  concealment,  but  to  five 
hundred  plain  common  men  of  different  and  vulgar 
occupations,  associated  previously  in  no  common  fra- 
ternity, held  together  by  no  antecedent  bond  ;  that  a 
secret  so  intrusted  to  such  a  number  of  such  men 


DESIGNED    ESIPOSTUKE    INCREDIBLE.  31 

should  be  kept  inviolable ;  that  they  should  weave  so 
dexterously  in  concert  their  web  of  falsehood,  that  the 
sagacity  and  perseverance  of  their  enemies  during 
eighteen  centuries  should  be  baffled  in  every  attempt 
to  unravel  it,  surpasses  credibility. 

Amidst  his  agonies  on  Calvary,  the  reputed  male- 
factor had  no  advocates  ;  not  an  individual  ventured 
to  defend  his  cause,  or  to  assert  his  claims.  But  no 
sooner  is  he  cold  in  his  sepulchre,  than  five  hu^red 
witnesses,  touched  by  some  common  impulse,  start  up 
and  attest  his  resurrection.  The  same  spirit  actuates 
them  all ;  they  move  in  concert ;  no  inconsistency 
marks  their  conduct ;  no  contradiction  appears  in  their 
narrative.  The  air,  the  expression,  the  parts,  the 
whole  bear  examination.  The  unity,  the  simplicity, 
the  consistency  of  truth  is  everywhere  maintained. 
No  error  betrays  the  concealed  fraud  ;  no  clue  guides 
to  a  detection  of  the  subtle  imposture. 

Great  as  their  number  is,  no  one  ever  swerves  from 
his  ill-plighted  faith.  In  his  most  serious  moments 
no  one  ever  relents.  In  his  most  careless  moments  no 
one  ever  betrays.  Though  threatened  with  death,  or 
tempted  by  reward,  not  a  symptom  of  dereliction  is 
ever  manifested  in  public,  or  a  syllable  of  doubt  ever 
whispered  in  private,  during  the  entire  lives  of  these 
adroit  impostors. 

"Was  there  ever  a  parallel  case  ?  Did  snch  complete, 
such  triumphant  success  ever  before  crown  such  a 
preposterous  undertaking  ? 

But  if  the  number  of  individuals  concerned  in  the 
promulgation  is  incompatible  with  imposture,  still 
more  so  is 


32  THE    RESURRECTION. 

The  system  of  doctrines  and  duties  founded  on  it. 

Ko  comparison  can  be  instituted  between  Christian- 
ity and  the  ethical  systems  on  which  the  ancient  philo- 
sophers had  exhausted  their  labors.  It  stands  amidst 
them  like  a  pyramid,  beside  the  rush-built  edifice 
which  children  for  their  amusement  have  reared  up. 
The  odds  is  equally  apparent,  whether  respect  be  had 
to  purity  of  morals,  or  sublimity  of  doctrine. 

Here  innocence  and  guilt  are  immeasurably  sepa- 
rated, and  the  lines  of  each  are  drawn  with  a  god-like 
hand.  Here  every  virtue  is  ascertained  and  enforced, 
every  vice  stated  and  condemned.  Here  no  fashion- 
able crimes  are  licensed,  no  venial  faults  tolerated. 
Here  duty  and  interest  are  united,  and  holiness  and 
happiness  made  inseparable.  Here  God  is  honored, 
man  is  humbled,  the  grave  illumined,  death  con- 
quered, hell  uncovered,  heaven  disclosed,  and  immor- 
tality brought  to  light. 

What  a  grand  and  awful  superstructure  to  be  reared 
on  a  foundation  so  humble,  and  which,  if  false,  must 
be  pronounced  so  vile.  This  matchless  and  imperish- 
able temple  of  truth  and  righteousness,  built  upon 
and  upheld  by  fraud  and  falsehood  ?  Kot  the  ever- 
lasting mountains,  standing  through  so  many  revolu- 
tions, with  only  hay  and  stubble  for  their  base,  would 
present  so  egregious,  so  palpable  a  contradiction. 

Correspondent  to  the  system  of  doctrines  and  duties 
founded  upon  the  resurrection,  is 

The  splendid  enterprise  projected  in  consequence 
of  it,  and  the  heroic  constancy  with  which  that  enter- 
prise was  executed. 

It  was  an  undertaking  embracing  as  its  object 
nothing  less  than  the  instruction  of  vulgar  ignorance, 


DESIGNED    IMPOSTURE    INCREDIBLE.  33 

the  humanizing  of  savage  manners,  the  subduing  of 
ferocious  passions,  the  regeneration  of  the  depraved 
heart,  the  sanctilication  of  the  guilt-defiled  conscience 
— in  a  word,  the  reformation  and  redemption  of  a  world . 
What  a  noble  and  lofty  undertaking  for  a  few  fisher- 
men, a  collector  of  customs,  and  a  tent-maker !  Espe- 
cially to  be  commenced  at  the  moment  they  were 
perjuring  themselves  beside  the  tomb  of  their  Master, 
l)y  falsely  attesting  his  resurrection  from  it. 

How  marvellous  it  is  that  these  faithless  conspira- 
tors, when  in  the  act  of  attempting  to  palm  upon  the 
world  one  of  the  most  impudent  of  falsehoods,  should 
conceive  the  sublime  and  god-Wee  idea  of  rearing  on 
that  very  falsehood  the  deathless  fabric  of  Christian 
faith  and  morals !  How  marvellous,  when  in  the  act 
of  attempting  this,  that  they  should  have  conceived 
and  resolved  to  execute  the  daring,  the  gigantic  pro- 
ject of  subverting  the  empire  of  superstition,  of  de- 
molishing the  temples  of  idolatry,  of  arresting  the 
progress  of  licentiousness,  of  stemming  the  torrent  of 
passion,  of  imposing  universal  chastity  upon  the  sexes, 
of  restoring  perpetual  peace  among  the  nations,  of 
eradicating  revenge  from  the  heart,  of  banishing  in- 
justice from  the  earth,  and  of  constraining,  by  an 
appeal  to  the  death  of  Jesus,  the  millions  that  inhabit 
it  to  renounce  their  sins,  to  exemplify  in  their  lives 
that  very  candor,  integrity,  and  veracity  which  they 
themselves,  by  the  fabrication  of  their  Master's  ap- 
pearance, had  just  with  frontless  audacity  abandoned 
and  abjured. 

Here  again  the  admission  of  the  imposture  involves 
absurdity,  contradicts  experience,  and  reverses  the 
natural  course  of  things.  Figs  spring  from  thistles, 
grapes  ripen  upon  thorns,  a  germ  of  life  shoots  forth 


34  THE    RESURRECTION. 

from  the  Bohan  Upas  of  the  universe,  and  fruits  of 
immortal  growth  hang  clustering  around  the  decaying, 
the  wrath-smitten  trunk  of  the  tree  of  Death.  Or,  to 
speak  without  a  figure,  moral  causes  cease  to  operate ; 
moral  character  loses  its  distinctness;  opposite  attri- 
butes assimilate ;  the  father  of  lies  becomes  the  patron 
of  truth ;  the  panders  of  fraud,  apostles  of  righteous- 
ness ;  and  from  hell  itself  proceeds  a  project  which 
angels  might  be  proud  to  execute,  and  which  heaven 
would  not  blush  to  own. 

Ah !  ye  mysterious  promulgators  of  the  new  reli- 
gion, ye  magnanimous  triflers  with  the  credulity  of 
mankind,  how  shall  I  reconcile  the  mean  and  guilty 
falsehood  with  which  yon  are  charged  to  the  grand 
and  glorious  enterprise  to  which  it  was  directed, — 
or  to  the  disinterested  and  heroic  constancy  with 
which  that  enterprise  was  executed  I — When  hold- 
ing the  New  Testament  in  my  hand,  I  behold  you 
compassing  the  land,  traversing  the  sea,  buffeting  the 
storm  ;  unsubdued  by  hunger,  unintimidated  by  peril, 
disregarding  the  dungeon,  contemning  the  scaffold, 
and  intent  only  on  the  conversion  of  sinners,  the  res- 
toration of  a  world  to  righteousness — when  I  behold 
these  things,  I  pay,  I  am  compelled  to  pay,  to  your 
memories  an  instinctive  homage. 

And  can  they,  the  perfection  of  whose  doctrines 
excites  my  admiration,  the  grandeur  of  whose  design 
awakens  my  awe,  and  the  manner  of  whose  execution 
extorts  my  homage,  can  they  have  been  impostors  ? 

A  marvellous  difference  exists  between  these  apos- 
tolic impostors,  if  indeed  they  were  such,  and  those 
unprincipled  pretenders  who  in  later  times  have  cor- 
rupted and  cursed  the  world.  I  have  never  seen  or 
heard  of  conspirators  like  these — conspirators  whose 


DESIGNED    ESD70STURE   INCREDIBLE.  o5 

high  and  ennobling  purpose  it  "was  to  extend  the  reign 
of  righteousness,  and  limit  and  narrow  the  dominion 
of  sin.  Of  all  snpposable  projects,  this  is  the  last  in 
which  men  of  this  sort  would  nowadays  engage. 

The  disciples,  it  is  affirmed,  did  not  believe  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  risen.  Grant  it.  There  are  other 
men  in  the  world  and  in  Christendom  who  do  not 
believe  it. 

But  what  wTould  yon  think  of  a  conspiracy  entered 
into  by  these  men,  after  the  example  of  the  disciples, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  imposing  still  more  extensively 
on  the  world  a  submission  to  that  faith  which  they 
themselves  receive  not  ?  What  would  you  think  if  in 
the  prosecution  of  this  conspiracy  you  should  see  them 
deliberately  forsaking  father  and  mother,  and  houses 
and  lands,  patiently  submitting  to  every  privation,  to 
want,  to  nakedness,  to  exile,  heroically  bracing  their 
bodies  to  the  severities  of  every  climate,  and  breasting 
the  storms  of  every  ocean,  as  unmindful  of  pain  as  of 
danger,  and  intent  only  on  conveying  the  knowledge 
of  this  resurrection  fable  not  only  to  the  capitals  of 
civilization,  but  to  the  unlettered  tribes  that  still 
hunt  amidst  the  forests  of  the  continent,  or  fish  along 
the  shores  of  the  islands  of  the  sea  ?  Or  having  seen 
such  an  enterprise  prosecuted  in  such  a  manner,  and 
this  for  many  years  together,  and  till  most  of  the  ori- 
ginal adventurers  had  become  martyrs  to  the  cause  ; 
having  seen  that  the  residue  held  on  to  the  persistent 
purpose  with  a  zeal  that  no  waters  could  quench,  with 
a  constancy  that  no  allurements  could  shake,  and  with 
a  fortitude  that  no  terrors  could  intimidate  ;  how  must 
we  estimate  the  candor  of  those  who  should  insinuate 
that  these  men  were  not  in  earnest,  that  they  were,  in 
fact,  intentional  deceivers  who  had  conceived  the  wild 


36  THE    RESURRECTION. 

idea  of  imposing  upon  mankind  tlie  belief  of  the  re- 
surrection, when  in  reality  they  did  not  believe  a  word 
of  it  themselves. 

And  yet  the  delicate  sensibility  of  some  casuists, 
though  it  recoils  from  the  suggestion  that  even  a  God 
of  mercy  might  possibly  have  interposed  for  the  salva- 
tion of  a  lost  world,  recoils  not  from  the  most  un- 
masked and  shameless  statement  of  the  foregoing- 
monstrous  absurdity. 

But  if  the  splendid  enterprise  projected  in  conse- 
quence of  the  resurrection,  and  the  heroic  constancy 
with  which  that  enterprise  was  executed,  are  incom- 
patible with  imposture,  still  more  incompatible  with  it 
are 

The  exemplary  lives  of  the  witnesses  who  took  the 
lead  in  its  execution. 

It  is  not  on  the  peculiar  character  of  the  apostolic 
enterprise,  and  the  sublime  manner  of  its  execution, 
that  we  exclusively  rely ;  though  these  suggest  an 
argument  that  never  has  been  and  never  can  be  satis- 
factorily answered.  To  the  insidious  imputation  of 
imposture  we  oppose  a  uniform  course  of  action,  an 
entire  life  consecrated  to  the  practice  and  promotion 
of  virtue,  no  less  than  to  the  establishment  and  spread, 
of  Christianity. 

We  ask,  and  let  our  adversaries  answer,  how  is  this 
to  be  accounted  for  ? 

A  solitary  vice,  it  is  believed,  seldom  takes  posses- 
sion of  the  heart.  Especially  is  it  not  the  nature  of 
falsehood  to  reign  alone.  He  who  can  sport  with  truth 
without  compunction  is  not  usually  very  scrupulous 
with  respect  to  the  commission  of  other  sins.  There 
is  not  a  more  execrable  character  than  that  of  the  wil- 


DESIGNED   IMPOSTURE    INCREDIBLE.  37 

ful,  conscious  liar.  Especially  may  this  be  affirmed 
in  respect  to  serious  subjects,  where  God  is  appealed 
to,  and  perjury  implied.  It  were  as  rational  to  look 
for  modesty  in  a  harlot  as  for  the  conscientious  per- 
formance of  any  relative  duty  from  such  a  faithless 
villain. 

And  yet  what  relative  duty  is  there  that  the  disciples 
performed  not  ?  The  attitude  of  Evangelist  is  not  the 
only  one  in  which  they  appear.  But  in  whatever 
position  they  were  placed,  the  expression  was  the 
same ;  in  whatever  light  exhibited,  the  attributes  of 
goodness  only  were  apparent. 

Their  characters  seem  to  have  been  formed  after  a 
sublime  model,  and  cast  in  a  diviner  mould  than  those 
of  any  other  mortals.  Their  virtues  were  of  a  higher 
order  and  a  holier  type.  On  earth  they  have  had  no 
rivals.  Philosophers  appear  degraded,  and  sages 
humbled  in  their  presence.  Nor  these  alone.  Even 
the  church  cannot  boast  an  individual  whose  life 
shrinks  not  from  a  comparison  with  theirs. 

The  Church  of  Rome,  even  in  its  darkest  periods, 
had  its  saintly  men.  The  Reformation  produced  a 
Luther,  a  Calvin,  a  Knox,  men  of  exalted  virtues,  and 
whose  memories  posterity  have  delighted  to  honor; 
but  neither  Romanism  nor  Protestantism  ever  gave 
the  world  any  characters  to  be  compared  with  the 
disciple  John  or  the  apostle  Paul.  The  characters  of 
the  reformers  were  indeed  formed  upon  the  same 
model  as  those  of  the  Evangelists,  but  they  were  char- 
acters of  a  lower  grade,  of  a  coarser  texture,  and  of 
a  less  celestial  aspect.  They  possessed  not,  or  at  least 
not  in  the  same  degree,  that  simple  majesty,  that  dis- 
interested charity,  that  unassuming  meekness,  that 
uniform  heavenly-mindedness  which  were  so  conspi- 


38  THE    RESURRECTION. 

cuous  in  those  favored  individuals  who  were  nurtured 
in  the  school,  surrounded  the  person,  and  enjoyed  the 
tutelage  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  situation  of  these  men  was  indeed  a  command-, 
ing  one.  They  stood  upon  an  eminence.  Their  theatre 
of  action  was  the  high  grounds  that  separate  the  pre- 
ceding from  the  present  dispensation.  But  after  all 
they  are  distinguished  less  by  the  eminence  of  their 
situation  than  of  their  virtues.  Other  characters 
appear  beside  them  like  the  miniatures  of  some 
modern  and  humble  artist  beside  the  full-length  por- 
traitures of  the  matchless  Raphael. 

Said  Luther  to  his  friends  who  endeavored  to  dissuade 
him  from  his  dangerous  journey :  "  If  there  were  as 
many  devils  at  Worms  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  houses 
I  would  go  there."  This  was  indeed  a  noble  utterance. 
There  is,  however,  something  of  coarseness  in  the  ex- 
pression, and  perhaps  a  tincture  of  pride  even  in  the 
sentiment.  Paul  would  not  have  spoken  thus.  On  a 
like  occasion,  thus  he  did  not  speak.  There  is  a  far 
greater  majesty  as  well  as  a  deeper  meekness  in  his 
words :  "  And  now  behold  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit 
unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall 
befall  me  there.  Save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth 
that  in  every  city  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But 
none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life 
dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course 
with  joy,  and  the  ministry  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God." 

The  difference  is  here  apparent,  nor  here  alone,  or 
between  these  individuals  only.  The  sternness  of 
Luther,  the  severity  of  Calvin,  the  coarseness  of  Knox, 
the  wavering  of  Erasmus,  and  the  timidity  of  Melanch- 
thon  appear  as  blemishes  when  seen  in  that  pure  and 


DESIGNED    IMPOSTURE    INCRED1BLK.  30 

steady  and  heavenly  light  which  is  still  reflected  from 
the  more  faultless  and  more  finished  characters  of  the 
witnesses  in  question.  Yes,  even  from  behind  that 
galaxy  with  which  the  Reformation  lit  up  the  moral 
firmament,  the  Apostles,  though  more  remote,  break 
upon  the  eye  like  orbs  of  vaster  magnitude,  and  more 
effulgent  brightness. 

This  is  not  exaggeration.  Whoever  reads  the  simple 
and  unadorned  record  of  their  lives  must  admit  that  it 
is  not.  In  them  dignity  and  humility  were  united, 
valor  and  forbearance  combined.  By  them  envy  was 
repressed,  revenge  extirpated,  and  self-denial  carried 
to  an  extent  unknown  before.  Amiable  in  their 
tempers,  conciliating  in  their  manners,  and  possessing 
a  sensibility  which  was  exquisite,  they  sympathized 
with  every  human  feeling,  where  sin  and  malignant 
opposition  did  not  forbid  its  exercise. 

Though  they  themselves  were  fi-ee  from  the  influ- 
ence of  some  of  the  tendcrest  ties  that  bind  a  mortal 
to  the  world,  they  were  none  the  less  on  that  account 
alive  to  the  joys  or  griefs  of  others.  After  the  ex- 
ample of  their  Master,  they  were  everywhere  sorrow's 
consolation.  They  wept  with  those  that  wept;  with 
those  who  rejoiced,  they  rejoiced.  To  superiors  they 
were  respectful,  to  inferiors  condescending,  to  enemies 
just.  They  paid  tribute  to  Csesar  ;  to  God  they  ren- 
dered homage.  Under  injuries  they  were  patient,  in 
affliction  they  were  submissive,  in  death  they  were 
resigned. 

Whether  such  a  splendid  assemblage  of  virtues,  such 
a  matchless  perfection  of  character,  be  compatible  with 
an  act  of  the  basest  fraud,  premeditated,  persisted  in, 
and  never  recanted,  we  may  leave  for  the  sagacity  of  in- 
fidels to  discover.    But  if  the  disciples  were  impostors, 


40  THE    RESURRECTION. 

they  are  the  first,  the  last,  and  the  only  ones  who  ever 
have  been,  or  who  ever  will  be,  in  life,  examples  of 
virtue,  and  in  death,  martyrs  unto  righteousness. 

These  considerations,  to  say  the  least,  render  impos- 
ture improbable  ;  and  to  crown  the  argument, 

The  course  of  action  without  motive,  or  rather  in 
opposition  to  motive,  which  this  supposes,  is  contrary 
to  the  nature  of  man,  and  therefore  impossible. 

No  man  was  ever  an  impostor  merely  for  the  sake 
of  being  one.  Deception  is  not  itself  an  end,  but 
merely  a  means  to  au  end.  He  who  deceives,  deceives 
for  some  purpose  apart  from  the  act  itself.  There  is 
always  an  ulterior  object,  a  concealed  motive,  which, 
when  disclosed,  explains  the  fictitious  part,  however 
sportive,  however  serious.  It  is  always  so.  No  man 
ever  intentionally  plays  the  hypocrite  for  nothing. 
He  who  deceives,  deceives  for  some  purpose  apart 
from  the  act  itself. 

How  was  it  with  the  disciples?  They  were  im- 
postors, it  is  afhrmed.  But  from  what  motive  ?  Or 
had  they  none  ?  If  any,  what  was  it  ?  From  whence 
drawn  %  Not  from  this  world,  surely ;  not  surely 
from  the  next. 

From  the  moment  of  the  crucifixion,  to  human  ap- 
pearance, the  cause  of  Christianity  was  hopeless.  Not 
the  Jews  only,  but  the  Greeks  and  Romans  also,  nor 
these  alone — the  learning,  the  ignorance,  the  passions, 
the  prejudices,  the  official  influence,  the  physical 
strength  of  the  world  were  arrayed  against  it.  Its 
Founder  was  a  tenant  of  the  sepulchre.  Its  few 
former  professors  had  abjured  it,  and  on  earth  there 
remained  not  a  friend. 

Under  such  circumstances,  to  recommence  the  pro- 


DESIGNED    IMTOSTUKE   INCREDIBLE.  41 

fession,  and  become  a  second  time  a  Christian,  was  to 
become  the  avowed  follower  of  a  crucified  impostor, 
and  the  voluntary  partaker  of  his  reproach  and 
obloquy. 

Thus  to  avow  themselves  Christians  was  to  consign 
their  memories  to  infamy,  and  their  bodies  to  cruci- 
fixion. Relentless  executioners,  reeking  with  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  compassed  his  hated  followers,  ready  and 
anxious  to  inflict  on  them  a  similar  vengeance. 

This  the  disciples  knew;  and  knowing  this,  with 
fires,  and  racks,  and  gibbets  displayed  before  them, 
and  in  the  avowed  expectation  of  meeting  death  by 
those  terrific  engines,  they  resolutely  resumed  their 
ministry,  and  entering  Jerusalem  itself  publicly,  and 
in  the  very  presence  of  His  blood-stained  murderers, 
announced  their  adored  Master's  triumphant  resurrec- 
tion. 

Faith  apart,  what  imaginable  motive  can  be  assigned 
for  this  conduct  ?  Be  their  motive  what  it  might,  it 
was  not  drawn  from  this  world.  Was  it  then  from  the 
next?  Ah!  hearer,  it  is  not  from  thence  that  men 
derive  motives  to  imposture.  Futurity  suggests  many 
a  thought  to  damp,  but  none  to  stimulate  the  unprin- 
cipled adventurer. 

Could  a  Jew,  with  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  in  his 
hand,  have  expected  that  fraud  or  perjury  would 
thereafter  be  rewarded  by  the  God  of  Israel  and  of 
righteousness  %  Could  a  Christian  have  expected  this '? 
Above  all,  could  these  reputed  impostors,  preadmon- 
ished  so  often  by  their  Master  of  that  Hell  of  Retri- 
bution which  awaited  the  workers  of  iniquity,  could 
these  men  have  expected  to  secure  the  plaudit  in  eter- 
nity by  an  act  of  treachery  that  must  damn  their  fams, 
and  defile  their  consciences  in  time  \     No :  to  become 


42  THE    EESUKKECTION. 

a  perjured  disciple,  the  future  offered  motive  no  more 
than  the  present.  The  gibbet  or  the  stake  in  this 
world,  and  Hell  in  the  next^were  indeed  poor  en- 
couragement for  imposture.  And  yet,  in  the  present 
instance,  these  were  the  only  encouragement.  Neither 
God  nor  man  offered  any  other. 

To  the  persecuted  disciples  of  a  conquered,  crucified' 
Christ,  there  was  no  motive  falsely  to  assert  His  resur- 
rection. And  yet  they  did  assert  tins.  They  persisted 
in  asserting  it — persisted,  in  the  face  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  rulers  of  both,  and 
in  defiance  of  all  the  torments  which  the  one  could 
threaten,  or  the  other  inflict.  They  were  imprisoned, 
they  were  beheaded,  they  were  exposed  to  wild  beasts, 
they  were  stoned,  they  were  crucified.  Still  they  per- 
sisted, and  from  the  cross,  or  at  the  stake,  or  on  the 
scaffold,  indeed  everywhere  alike,  till  the  blow  was 
struck  that  felled  them,  they  continued  to  honor 
Christ,  and  to  repeat,  "  That  he  had  risen."  Now,  if 
they  did  not  really,  and  in  their  souls,  believe  in  his 
actual  resurrection,  for  what — in  the  name  of  God  we 
ask  it — for  what  did  they  do  and  suffer  this  \  For 
what  did  they  resign  the  comforts  of  life  and  en- 
counter the  horrors  of  death  f 

For  what  ?  According  to  the  theory  of  unbelievers, 
for  nothing — without  any  motive  at  all.  Nay ;  in 
opposition  to  all  motive,  from  earth,  from  heaven, 
from  hell,  from  time  and  from  eternity,  they  honored, 
and  they  persisted  in  honoring  when  dead,  that  very 
impostor  whom,  when  dying,  they  had  deserted  and 
denied. 

Is  there  a  man  credulous  or  mad  enough  to  believe 
this?  credulous  or  mad  enough  to  believe  that  the 
confessor  had  nothing  to  console  him  in  his  dungeon, 


DESIGNED   IMPOSTURE   INCREDIBLE.  43 

tliat  tlie  martyr  had  nothing  to  support  him  at  the 
stake. 

"Without  faith  and  without  hope,  did  men  forsake 
father  and  mother,  and  houses  and  lands,  and  wander 
in  voluntary  exile,  hated,  despised,  and  persecuted 
through  the  earth  ?  Without  faith  and  without  hope, 
did  men  cheerfully  embrace  the  cross,  and  trium- 
phantly mount  the  scaffold  \  Did  they  deliberately 
suffer  in  their  reputation  the  foulest  disgrace,  and  in 
their  bodies  the  most  excruciating  torments,  in  attes- 
tation of  that  resurrection  in  which  they  had  no 
belief  ? 

Supported  by  nothing,  did  Paul  glory  in  tribula- 
tions %  In  the  chilling  influence  of  unbelief,  exhausted 
by  suffering,  sinking  under  the  pressure  of  his  perse- 
cutors, at  such  a  moment  and  under  such  influence,  did 
Stephen  look  up  to  heaven  in  ecstasy  and  with  his 
last  breath  exclaim,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit  ? 

Would  to  God  I  were  capable  of  placing  this  article 
before  you  with  its  bold  and  distinctive  coloring,  and 
in  the  strong  blaze  of  its  original  and  unreflected  light. 
Would  to  God  that  I  were  able  to  tear  away  that  veil 
Avhich  the  lapse  of  eighteen  hundred  years  has  drawn 
over  apostolic  sufferings !  that  I  were  able  to  show  you, 
in  the  midst  of  lire  and  flames,  the  dying  martyr, 
attesting  the  reality  of  his  Saviour's  resurrection,  sup- 
ported by  this  hope  alone  ;  would  to  God  that  I  could 
show  him  to  you  as  the  amazed  spectators  saw  him, 
contemning  the  agonies  of  death,  and  stretching  forth 
from  amidst  the  devouring  element  his  quivering  half- 
consumed  hands,  to  seize  the  crown  of  righteousness 
which  Jesus  Christ  presents,  and  which  faith  unfolds 
to  his  heaven-directed  eye !  Ah,  could  I  do  this,  I 
would  not  ask  whether  these  witnesses,  on  whose  minds 
3 


44  THE     EESUKKECTION. 

Christ's  reappearance  had  produced  such  an  instan- 
taneous, such  an  abiding,  such  a  miraculous  effect,  that 
they  ever  afterwards  disregarded  fame,  riches,  ease, 
pain,  and  death ;  I  would  not  ask  whether  they  them- 
selves really  believed  that  lie  had  risen  from  the  dead. 

You  would  not  ask  it.  The  living  spectators  who 
heard  the  dying  disciple,  from  the  cross,  from  the 
scaffold,  or  from  amidst  the  kindling  fagots,  assert 
his  faith  and  repeat  his  testimony,  did  not  ask  this. 

No  !  the  heart  of  man  revolts  from  the  shocking  ab- 
surdity of  such  a  question.  Mart}Trdom  for  false 
opinions  there  may  be ;  the  Apostle  asserts  its  possi-. 
bility ;  the  world  has'  had  examples  of  it;  but  mar- 
tyrdom in  attestation  of  a  fact  known  to  be  false, 
is  incredible.  It  reverses  the  famous  sophism  of 
Hume.  No  miracle  m  nature  so  taxes  the  human  cre- 
dulity, or  demands  such  an  amount  of  testimony  for 
its  belief. 

Coidd  you  but  see,  hearer,  one  such  witness  (and 
that  there  have  been  many  is  not  disputed),  could  you 
see  but  one  such  witness,  tearing  himself  from  his 
friends,  tearing  himself  from  the  world,  and  bracing 
his  body  to  endure  the  most  excruciating  torments  in 
attestation  of  a  fact,  however  you  yourself  might 
doubt  the  reality  of  that  fact,  you  never  would  doubt 
the  reality  of  his  belief  of  it. 

This  alternative,  also,  may  therefore  be  considered 
as  put  at  rest.  The  disciples  did  themselves  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  had  risen  !  and  because  they  believed 
this,  they  were  not  impostors. 

Is  there  anything  further  to  be  urged  to  invalidate 
their  testimony?  It  has  previously  been  shown  that 
they  were  not  imposed  upon  ;  it  has  now  been  shown 
that  they  were  not  impostors.     "We  must,  therefore, 


DESIGNED   BtTOSTUKE    INCREDIBLE.  45 

deny  the  connection  between  cause  and  effect ;  deny 
the  influence  of  motive,  abandon  reason,  contra- 
dict experience,  contradict  nature,  contradict  God, 
or  admit  that  Jesns  Christ  has  indeed  risen  from 
the  dead. 


III. 

THE  ALLEGED  THEFT  OF  THE  SAVIOURS  BODY. 

Whei'eof  he  has  given  assurance  to  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead.     Acts  xvii.  31. 

The  two  alternatives,  suggested  to  weaken  the 
credibility  of  the  witnesses  who  attest  the  resurrec- 
tion, have  in  the  preceding  discourses  been  met,  and, 
it  is  believed,  have  been  refuted.  Nothing  remains 
to  invalidate  it.     On  the  contrary, — ■ 

There  is  a  train  of  well-connected  circumstances 
corroborating  their  testimony  •  and  there  are  other 
and  incontrovertible  facts  confirming  and  establish- 
in  g  this  previous  fact. 

There  is  a  train  of  well-connected  circumstances 
corroborating  their  testimony. 

What  are  they  ?     I  will  mention  some  of  them. 

The  change  of  feeling  and  of  action  which  took 
place  in  the  disciples  ;  the  absence  of  the  body  ;  the 
account  given  by  the  Jews  and  by  the  guard  of  its 
removal ;  their  conduct  on  the  occasion  ;  the  order 
in  which  the  sepulchre  was  found,  and  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  reputed  felony  on  its  perpetrators. 

Each  of  these  has  a  bearing  on  the  question  now 
at  issue.  They  are  all,  however,  so  interwoven  that 
a  separate  discussion  will  not  be  requisite. 


THE   ALLEGED   THEFT   OF   THE    SAVIOUR'S   BODY.       47 

There  is  a  marked  and  obvious  difference  between 
the  conduct  of  the  disciples  after  the  time  in  which 
the  resurrection  is  said  to  have  taken  place  and  their 
previous  conduct.  The  crucifixion,  so  precisely  cal- 
culated to  depress,  to  dishearten,  and,  by  dissolving 
their  only  bond  of  union,  utterly  to  disperse  them, 
seemed  to  have  produced,  and  to  be  producing,  its 
legitimate  effects  until  the  third  day.  Hitherto  some 
resemblance  may  be  traced  between  them  and  other 
human  beings,  when  compassed  by  enemies,  when 
struggling  with  difficulties,  and  bent  on  the  prosecu- 
tion of  some  momentous  and  doubtful  enterprise. 
They  were  anxious  ;  they  were  wavering ;  they  were 
timid  ;  they  were  easily  alarmed.  When  their  Mas- 
ter was  apprehended,  only  consternation  seized  them. 

Dismayed,  they  shunned  the  public  eye.  They 
shrunk  from  observation.  The  voice  even  of  a  ser- 
vant-maid awed  Peter,  before  so  confident,  and  who 
had  followed  at  a  distance,  into  an  act  of  abjuration. 
Eager  to  escape  by  any  means,  he  disclaimed  all  con- 
nection with  the  disciples,  and  denied  with  oaths 
even  the  knowledge  of  their  Master.  Thus,  as  we 
have  said,  the  crucifixion  seemed  to  have  produced, 
and  to  be  producing,  its  legitimate  effects  until  the 
third  day.  No  longer.  It  was  the  crisis  of  their 
fate  :  the  point  on  which  their  fortunes  turned.  On 
that  day,  so  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  church 
and  of  the  world,  some  great  and  propitious  event  must 
have  taken  place.  There  must  have  been  an  entire 
change  of  circumstances,  for  an  entire  change  of  con- 
duct ensued.  A  new  era  commences.  Thereafter 
i no  one  hesitates;  no  one  wavers.  All  are  suddenly 
reunited,  reanimated,  and  transformed  into  prodigies 
of  valor.     And  this  little  band— the  first  members  of 


43  THE   EESUREECTION. 

the  Christian  church— stand  amidst  the  raging  multi- 
tude, breast  the  storm,  and  meet  the  wave  of  perse- 
cution, firm  as  the  surge-beaten  rocks  meet  the  bil- 
lows of  the  ocean  that  rise  and  roar  and  break  upon 
them. 

To  what  is  this  sudden,  this  surprising  transforma- 
tion to  be  attributed  ?  Around  whose  standard  was 
it  that  the  dispersed  and  terror-stricken  Christians 
rallied  ?  Whose  voice  of  power  was  it  that  re-braced 
the  nerves  of  the  palpitating  convert,  and  drew  forth 
the  concealed  disciple  from  his  hiding-place  ?  Even 
Peter  is  reclaimed  ;  is  re-established  in  faith  and  for- 
titude. Dungeons  no  longer  awe  him ;  death  does 
not  intimidate  him.  He  seeks  the  place  of  danger ; 
he  covets  the  crown  of  martyrdom !  Yes,  even  Peter 
— the  timorous  Peter,  who  just  now  dared  not  even 
own  his  Master,  but  shrunk  from  the  accusation  of  a 
servant-girl,  now  dares  to  face  his  murderers  lifting 
their  blood-stained  hands  to  heaven,  and  appealing  to 
the  righteous  God  in  vindication  of  their  act.  Yes, 
even  he  dares  to  face  these  men,  and  to  say  to  them, 
"  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God  among 
you  by  miracles,  and  wonders,  and  signs ;  him,  being 
delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowl- 
edge of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands 
have  crucified  and  slain.  This  Jesus  God  hath  raised 
up,  whereof  we  are  all  witnesses." 

Who  can  account,  on  any  ordinary  principles  of 
action,  for  this  conduct  of  Peter,  or  for  that  of  the 
other  disciples?  "Will  those  who  reproach  us  with 
weakness  for  believing,  suggest  any  plausible  apology 
for  unbelief?  Will  they  even  furnish  a  plausible 
conjecture,  the  resurrection  apart,  that  will  explain 
these  phenomena  ?     That  fact  admitted,  the  mystery 


THE  ALLEGED  THEFT  OF  THE  SAVIOUR'S  BODY.   49 

vanishes,  and  the  whole  after-scene,  which  was  other- 
wise itself  a  prodigy,  appears  congruous  and  na- 
tural. 

But  the  resurrection  is  a  matter  oifact,  which  the 

SEPULCHRE    IS     THE    PLACE    TO     INVESTIGATE.        All     111- 

spection  of  that  will  doubtless  bring  to  light  some 
circumstances,  either  in  confirmation  or  in  refutation. 
Come,  then,  let  us  go  and  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
lay.  Behold  yonder  that  host  of  enemies  who  three 
days  since  were  exulting  in  their  triumph  over  the 
prostrate  Galilean.  Let  us  approach  them  ;  let  us 
say  to  them :  "  Into  your  hands  was  committed,  as  it 
was  taken  from  the  cross,  the  lacerated  body  of  him 
whom  we  supposed  to  have  been  the  Saviour."  Pro- 
duce that  body  now,  and  our  inquiries  will  be  an- 
swered, the  testimony  of  his  disciples  falsified,  and 
the  tongue  of  imposture  silenced  forever. 

What  say  you,  ye  priests  ?  ye  keepers,  what  is  your 
answer  ?  "  The  body  is  missing."  The  body  miss- 
ing ?  "  Yes,  it  has  eluded  our  vigilance  ;  it  has  es- 
caped from  our  custod}7 ;  it  has  fled  the  sepulchre." 
It  has  so !  Look,  believer,  and  see.  The  stone  is 
rolled  back,  and  the  vault  tenantless  !  There  lie  the 
napkin  that  was  bound  about  his  head,  and  the  linen 
clothes  that  enfolded  his  body ;  but  the  body  which 
they  enfolded  lies  not  there  ! 

"What  mean  these  habiliments  which  the  dead  has 
worn  and  laid  aside — this  folded  napkin — this  desert- 
ed cemetery?  What  mean  these  things?  Do  they 
not  intimate,  and  more  than  intimate,  the  verity  of 
what  the  reclaimed  Peter  asserts,  the  reality  of  what 
the  joy-entranced  Mary  has  seen,  and  whose  bursting 
heart  still  swells  with  emotions  too  tender  for  con- 
cealment, too  strong  for  utterance  ? 


50  THE   RESUKKECTION. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  body  has  been  secretly  con- 
veyed away.  Let  ns  indulge  the  supposition  for  a 
moment.  But  by  whom  \  Was  it  by  his  enemies  ? 
Would  they  whose  malice  compassed  his  death,  and 
whose  malice  even  death  itself  had  not  quenched, 
would  they  have  conspired  to  re-establish  his  predic- 
tion, and  cover  his  memory  with  glory  ?  Was  it, 
then,  his  friends  ?  Ah,  had  Jesus  Christ  died  in  re- 
tirement, and  surrounded  only  by  his  friends,  there 
might  have  been,  if  not  a  motive,  at  least  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  execution  of  such  a  dark  design.  In 
a  death  so  circumstanced,  prevention  might  have  been 
impossible,  detection  difficult. 

But,  be  it  remembered,  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  public ;  his  burial  conducted  in  the  presence 
and  under  the  direction  of  his  enemies.  The  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  the  priests,  the  populace,  backed  by 
the  authority  of  Ceesar,  and  with  soldiery  at  their  dis- 
posal, were  surely  competent  to  protect  the  sepulchre 
from  the  assault  of  Peter  and  John,  the  two  Marys, 
and  a  few  other  women,  who  alone  appear  to  have 
had  fortitude  enough  even  to  approach  the  place 
where  this  appalling  tragedy  was  enacted.  That  they 
attempted  to  protect  it,  that  they  foresaw  the  conse- 
quences of  failure,  that  they  felt  the  full  force  of  all 
those  motives  which  urged  them  to  retain  in  their  pos- 
session the  body  of  the  reputed  malefactor  until  the 
third  day  was  past,  is  manifest.  They  used  precaution  ; 
they  made  arrangements ;  they  employed  force.  Every- 
thing that  man  could  do  they  did  to  secure  the  sepul- 
chre. And  why  did  they  not  secure  it?  The  event 
shows  why  they  did  not.  Because  it  imprisoned  Him 
who  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  /  in  whose  "  hand 
were  the  keys  of  hell  and  death ;  who  could  himself 


THE    ALLEGED    THEFT    OF    THE    SAVIOUR  S   BODY.        Ol 

open,  and  no  one  could  shut,  who  could  shut,  and  no 
one  could  open." 

"Was  ever  sepulchre  so  secured,  so  watched,  so 
guarded  before  ?  Has  the  tomb  on  any  other  occa- 
sion, or  to  favor  any  other  imposture,  surrendered  up 
the  dead  that  were  in  it?  Never;  since  the  first 
man  died  this  prison  has  been  inviolable.  To  saints,  to 
sinners,  to  true  men  and  impostors,  egress  has  been 
alike  denied.  No  vigilance  eludes,  no  gold  bribes  its 
keeper,  nor  does  any  violence  break  its  bars.  Even 
the  most  dreaded  tyrants,  when  Death  takes  them  in 
arrest,  are  no  longer  dreaded.  Thereafter  no  one 
fears  their  release,  or  guards  against  their  reappear- 
ance. Though  they  expire  in  the  midst  of  courtiers, 
whose  fortunes  hang  upon  their  fortunes,  who  watch 
the  remains  of  life  with  all  the  devotion  with  which 
vestals  watch  the  lire  upon  the  altar,  who  strive  to 
prevent  the  departing  spirit,  and  would  gladly  impose 
upon  the  world,  were  it  possible,  a  belief  of  its  return 
after  it  was  irrevocably  gone, — still,  none  fears  their 
release,  no  one  guards  against  their  reappearance. 
Suddenly  the  lacerated  slave,  set  free,  walks  forth  se- 
curely and  unharmed  over  the  dust  of  his  disdainful 
master,  assured  that  neither  arms  nor  artifice  can  res- 
cue the  death-enthralled  oppressor,  or  establish  on 
earth  his  fallen  influence. 

How  then  was  it  practicable  in  the  case  before  us 
to  do  this  %  AYhat  circumstances  favored  the  re-es- 
tablishment of  the  Galilean's  fallen  power?  He 
expired,  as  you  have  heard,  ignominiously ;  he  ex- 
pired publicly,  he  expired  surrounded  by  enemies. 
They  ascertained  his  death;  they  controlled  his 
burial.  His  tomb  was  hewn  from  the  solid  rock — a 
great  stone  was  rolled  to  its  mouth ;  that  stone  was 
3* 


52  THE   RESURRECTION. 

sealed,  and  a  band  of  armed  soldiers  placed  before  it. 
And  yet,  in  despite  of  this  stone,  this  seal,  this  band 
of  armed  soldiers,  the  pathway  from  the  tomb  was 
forced,  and  the  body  it  imprisoned  had  fled  !  How  ? 
Through  whose  agency  ?  By  what  means  ?  No  one 
answers  these  interrogations.  The  whole  transaction 
is  veiled  in  mystery.  Not  even  the  guard  give  the 
least  account  of  it.  From  a  suspicious  source,  in- 
deed, a  report  is  circulated  :  That  "  while  these  slept 
his  disciples  came  and  stole  away  the  body."  Is  this 
report  plausible  ?  Has  it  any  internal  marks  of  truth  ? 
Has  it  any  external  ?  Whatever  else  may  be  said  to 
explain  the  transaction,  this  report  is  a  falsehood. 

It  is  a  palpable  falsehood.  Let  us  examine  it : 
"  His  disciples  came  by  night  and  stole  him  away 
while  ioe  slept."  Who  are  they  who  are  bribed  to 
make  this  pitiful  declaration  ?     You  shall  hear. 

"  Now,  the  next  day  that  followed  the  day  of  pre- 
paration, the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  came  to- 
gether unto  Pilate,  saying,  Sir,  we  remember  that 
that  deceiver  said,  while  he  was  yet  alive,  After  three 
days  I  will  rise  again.  Command  therefore  that 
the  sepulchre  be  made  sure  until  the  third  day,  lest 
his  disciples  come  by  night  and  steal  him  away,  and 
say  unto  the  people,  He  is  risen  from  the  dead :  so 
the  last  error  shall  be  worse  than  the  first.  Pilate 
said  unto  them,  Ye  have  a  watch  :  go  your  way,  and 
make  it  as  sure  as  ye  can.  So  they  went  and  made  the 
sepulchre  sure,  sealing  the  stone,  and  setting  a  watch." 

You  perceive  who  this  guard  were ;  by  whom  au- 
thorized ;  by  whom  selected,  and  where  stationed. 
You  perceive  also  the  agitation  the  crucifixion  occa- 
sioned, the  anxiety  it  excited,  and  the  interest  which 
was  felt  to  preserve,  until  the  third  day  was  passed 


THE    ALLEGED    THEFT    OF    THE    SAVIOUR'S    BODY.        53 

by,  the  sepulchre  inviolate.  And  vet  inviolate  the 
sepulchre  was  not  preserved.  The  reason  why  it  was 
not  is  not  so  much  as  intimated.  What  say  the  guards  \ 
Precisely  what  they  were  bribed  to  say.  "  His  disci- 
ples came  by  night  and  stole  him  away  while  we 
slept."  I  affirm  that  the  guards  were  bribed  to  say 
this,  not  only  because  it  is  so  recorded,  but  because 
that,  and  that  only,  will  account  for  their  making  the 
impudent  declaration— a  declaration  which,  though 
it  had  been  true,  they,  without  the  connivance  of  the 
Jews,  had  never  dared  to  make. 

Whoever  knows  anything  of  the  rigors  of  military 
discipline  knows  that  they  would  not.  Then,  as  now, 
for  the  sentinel  to  slumber  at  his  post  was  death. 
And  yet  these  guards  slept.  More  than  this,  they 
avow  openly  that  they  have  done  so.  Still  no  mur- 
murs are  heard  ;  no  inquest  is  held ;  no  executions 
issue.  The  Jews,  so  anxious  to  defend  the  sepulchre, 
and  so  resentful  to  every  other  being  that  crossed 
them  in  their  purpose,  to  the  guard  were  all  concili- 
ation ;  the  guard,  whose  criminal  neglect  had  occa- 
sioned to  themselves  the  most  disastrous  disappoint- 
ment. Against  this  guard  they  prefer  no  charges; 
they  indulge  no  animosity.  Both  parties  are  perfectly 
complacent,  and  mutually  desirous  to  consign,  with- 
out inquiry,  so  much  of  the  transaction  as  concerned 
the  soldiery  to  oblivion.  Whence  this  unnatural  sym- 
pathy between  the  guard  and  their  distinguished  em- 
ployers ?  Clamorous  on  every  other  article,  they 
maintain  on  this  a  studied,  sullen  silence.  Why  this 
preternatural  apathy  ?  Why  was  no  examination  in- 
stituted ?  why  was  no  development  attempted  of  that 
mysterious  incident  which  terrifies  the  priests  ;  which 
terrifies  the  elders ;    which  shook  Jerusalem  to  its 


54  THE   RESURRECTION. 

centre?  The  answer  is  at  hand;  the  Evangelists 
have  furnished  it.  "  Some  of  the  watch  came  into 
the  city,  and  showed  unto  the  chief  priests  all  the 
things  that  were  done."  u^l?^when  they  had  as- 
sembled with  the  elders,  and  had  taken  counsel 
together,  they  gave  large  money  unto  the  soldiers, 
saying,  Say  ye,  His  disciples  came  and  stole  him  away 
while  we  slept.  And  if  this  come  to  the  governor's 
ears,  we  will  persuade  him,  and  secure  you.  And  they 
took  the  money  and  did  as  they  were  taught,"  saying, 
"His  disciples  came  and  stole  him  away  while  we 
slept." 

"  While  we  slept ;  "  but  did  they  sleep  on  such  a 
night  as  this,  and  during  the  performance  of  such  a 
duty  ?  Did  they  sleep  while  guarding  the  avenues 
of  death,  and  stationed  as  they  were  at  the  tomb  of 
that  dread  pretender,  who  had  announced  before- 
hand the  time  that  he  would  rend  that  tomb,  and 
come  forth,  the  resurrection  and  the  life  f  They 
did  not  sleep.  Every  bosom  palpitated,  every  nerve 
quivered,  and  from  every  eye  slumber  fled.  Who- 
ever slept  in  Jerusalem  that  night,  this  guard  did  not 
sleep.  Kature  teaches  that  they  could  not:  God 
knows  they  did  not. 

But  suppose  they  had — not  one,  but  all  of  them. 
Suppose  this  whole  band  of  soldiers,  leaning  on  their 
spears,  or  reclining  on  their  shields  beside  or  around 
the  sepulchre,  tranquil  as  the  tired  laborer  on  his 
con cli,  composed  themselves  to  sleep?  Could  the  as- 
sault have  been  made ;  could  the  seal  have  been  bro- 
ken ;  could  that  stone  so  large  have  been  rolled  back, 
and  the  body,  disengaged  from  the  bandages  that 
begirt  it,  be  borne  away  in  triumph  without  awaking 
them  ?     Or  does  (look  again  into  the  sepulchre  and 


THE   ALLEGED    THEFT    OF    THE    SAYIOUk's    BODY.        55 

tell  me),  does  the  linen  cloth,  wreathed  so  orderly, 
and  lying  on  the  one  side,  or  the  folded  napkin,  ad- 
justed with  so  much  care,  and  lying  on  the  other, 
appear  like  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  robbery  ?  No 
rude  hand  disengaged  that,  linen  cloth  from  the  body 
it  enfolded,  or  tore  away  that  napkin  from  the  head 
it  bound.  Be  the  truth  what  it  may,  they  have  not 
told  it.  This  tale  of  the  body  being  stolen  while 
they  slept,  and  stolen  too  by  the  disciples,  is  a  false- 
hood ;  a  palpable  falsehood,  and 

As  useless  as  it  is  palpable.  I  say  useless,  for  it 
leaves  unaccounted  for  other  and  more  decisive  phe- 
nomena than  that  of  the  mere  absence  of  the  body 
for  which  it  was  fabricated  to  account.  Of  all  pos- 
sible shifts  to  get  rid  of  supernatural  interference, 
that  of  implicating  the  disciples  is  the  worst.  If  the 
stealing  of  a  dead  body  would  of  itself  give  confi- 
dence in  the  resurrection,  and  re-establish  the  pros- 
trate influence  of  a  departed  chief,  of  what  potentate 
would  the  ashes  remain  undisturbed  in  its  sepulchre  ? 
Or  what  faction  would  ever  be  dispirited  and  dispersed 
by  their  leader's  death? — a  loss  which  has  hitherto 
been  deemed,  both  by  the  virtuous  and  the  vile,  irre- 
parable. Were  this  the  fact,  if  the  rifling  of  a  tomb 
would  produce  such  reunion  and  reanimation,  we 
should  see  the  mausoleums  of  tyrant  kings  guarded 
after  their  decease  as  carefully  as  the  prisons  they 
erected  were  guarded  previously,  and  resurrections 
would  have  been  as  frequent  in  our  world  as  those 
falling  powers  have  been  which  required  for  their 
support  a  factitious  influence. 

But  the  rifling  of  a  tomb  never  did,  never  could, 
produce  reunion  and  reanimation.  I  have  heard  of 
followers  being  kept  together  and  in  spirits  by  the 


56  THE   RESURRECTION. 

concealment,  never  before  by  the  promulgation,  of 
their  leader's  death. 

The  subtle  Catherine,  who  wrested  from  her  hus- 
band the  sceptre  of  the  Russias,  reasoned  differently. 
iSot  content  with  having  announced  by  a  public 
ukase  the  emperor's  death,  and  that  she  might  the 
more  effectually  break  the  spirits  and  disconcert  the 
plans  of  his  adherents,  she  caused  his  body  to  be  con- 
veyed to  the  capitol,  and  to  be  uncovered,  before  its 
burial,  in  the  midst  of  them.  The  event  showed 
with  what  sagacity  she  had  taken  this  decisive  mea- 
sure. While  there  was  a  possibility  that  their  incar- 
cerated sovereign  lived,  loyalty  gave  them  confidence. 
But  when  they  saw  his  pall,  approached  his  bier, 
lifted  his  shroud,  and  identified  his  corse,  hope  for- 
sook them,  exertion  ceased,  and  the  bond  that  had 
united  them  became  instantly  and  utterly  dissolved. 

Had  the  disciples,  as  the  bribed  watch  falsely  tes- 
tified, stolen  the  body  of  their  Master,  it  had  been 
to  the  priests  and  elders  not  a  ground  of  regret,  but 
of  exultation.  Such  an  act  would  have  proved  as 
fatal  to  his  claims  as  it  would  have  been  derogatory 
to  the  honor  of  his  followers.  Had  they  done  this, 
no  after-persecutions,  from  either  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
would  hav,-  1  een  necessary  to  exterminate  the  sect. 
It  had  perished  of  necessity.  This  theft  alone  must 
have  produced  its  dissolution.  ISTo  successors  would 
have  perpetuated  their  infamy ;  nor  would  even  the 
record  of  their  folly  or  their  fraud  have  reached  the 
times  in  which  we  live.  Ages  ago  the  story  would 
have  been  forgotten  and  unknown. 

This  is  not  lightly  said.  Let  us  assume  the  fact  to 
which  this  watch,  asleep  as  they  were  at  the  time,  are 
said  to  testify  with  so  much  certitude.     Let  us  follow 


THE   ALLEGED   THEFT    OF    THE    SAVIOUIi  S    BODY.        57 

ont  the  consequences,  and  see  how  the  sequel  corre- 
sponds to  the  assumption. 

Be  it  so.  The  sepulchre  was  violated,  and  by  the 
disciples.  What  an  egregious  error !  "What  a  dis- 
heartening incident !  Can  you  conceive  of  anything 
that  could  have  befallen  the  already  humbled  and 
desponding  disciples  so  calamitous  as  voluntarily  to 
have  stooped  to  this  vile  act  of  imputed  degradation ! 
To  have  stooped,  I  do  not  say  to  acquire  the  name, 
but  to  do  the  deed,  and  to  feel  the  shame  of  having 
done  it ;  to  feel  the  shame,  not  of  having  the  world 
know,  but  of  knowing  themselves,  that  they  had 
stolen,  and,  to  save  appearances,  been  compelled  to 
steal,  from  its  abode  of  death,  the  already  decompos- 
ing body  of  that  boastful  deceiver  who  had  pro- 
claimed himself,  and  whom  they  had  proclaimed  to 
be,  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the  Jews  and  of  the 
world. 

Imagine  the  disciples,  on  that  ill-boding  and  dis- 
mal night,  assembled  in  some  secret  and  obscure  re- 
treat. From  this  friendless  and  despised  group  of 
beings,  imagine  a  selection  made  for  the  performance 
of  the  premeditated  and  degrading  act  of  subterra- 
nean rapine.  Muffled  in  darkness,  the  base  adventur- 
ers withdraw  from  their  no  less  base  associates  ;  they 
steal  along  the  by-paths;  they  skulk  behind  the 
monuments  ;  nearer  and  yet  nearer  they  approach  in 
silence.  The  guards  are  slumbering  at  their  posts, 
and  they  reach  the  sepulchre  undiscovered.  They 
penetrate  it ;  again  they  emerge,  and,  like  felons, 
laden  with  their  spoils,  they  return,  bearing  the  corse 
of  their  once  adored  leader,  now  pale,  ghastly,  and 
disfigured  with  wounds.  This  corse,  the  trophy  of 
their  vile  adventure,  they  expose  in  the  midst  of  his 


58  THE   RESURRECTION. 

assembled  and  disheartened  followers,  exclaiming, 
"We  have  succeeded,  comrades ;  we  have  eluded  the 
guard ;  we  have  rolled  away  the  stone ;  we  have  re- 
possessed ourselves  of  the  body  of  Christ,  our  captain. 
Look !  it  is  he ;  see  where  the  nails  rent  his  hands, 
and  where  the  spear  pierced  his  side.  Look !  it  is 
He.  These  are  the  hands  that  have  been  wounded  ; 
this  the  side  that  was  pierced ;  this  is  Christ,  our  captain, 
the  same  that  was  crucified,  that  was  buried."  You 
have  indeed  restored  to  us  his  body,  but  the  soul  has 
fled.  O  Christ !  The  Jews  then  have  conquered,  and 
thou  hast  not  risen,  but  art  dead.  What  a  com- 
ment this  on  thy  high  pretensions,  thy  imperial  claim, 
thy  celestial  origin !  What  a  lesson  to  us  his  follow- 
ers !  He  can  give  us  no  counsel ;  he  can  furnish  us 
with  no  defence.  It  behooves  us,  then,  to  think  of 
ourselves,  and  escape,  while  we  can,  to  some  place  of 
saf  ety.  Ere  this  the  guard  may  have  awaked  ;  they 
will  discover  the  outrage  that  has  been  committed ; 
they  will  spread  the  alarm  through  an  injured  and 
indignant  city ;  its  suburbs  will  be  scoured,  our  re- 
treat will  be  discovered,  and  accumulated  ven- 
geance will  burst  upon  our  heads.  Whither  shall  we 
fly  ?  Who  will  pity  us  \  Who  will  protect  us  %  What 
will  become  of  us  ?  Ah,  thou  author  of  our  misery  ! 
Alas,  our  mad  credulity  !  Is  this  the  reward  of  our 
faith  and  our  fidelity  %  Ah,  detested  impostor,  thy 
folly  and  thy  falsehood  has  ruined  thyself  and  us ! 

My  God,  what  a  chilling,  what  a  terrific  scene! 
Can  a  more  appalling  spectacle  be  imagined  than 
that  of  a  dead  Christ,  stolen  from  his  sepulchre,  and 
surrounded  by  his  hopeless,  heaven-deserted  follow- 
ers !  And  was  it  here,  think  you ;  was  it  here  in  this 
cadaverous  chamber,  while  the  pains  of  death  com- 


THE   ALLEGED    THEFT    OF    THE    SAVIOUR'S   BODY.        59 

passed  them  about, — when  the  terrors  of  crucifixion 
threatened  them, — was  it  here,  in  this  haunt  of  sin, 
of  falsehood,  of  misery,  and  of  putrefaction,  that  the 
transcendent  and  immortal  system  of  Christian 
faith  and  morals  was  adopted  f  Was  it  here  that 
the  proud  idea  was  conceived  of  subverting  the  em- 
pire of  Satan,  and  converting  the  world  to  righteous- 
ness ?  Was  it  here  that  the  suffering  martyr  learned 
to  endure  pain  and  contemn  death  ?  Was  it  here 
that  the  fervent  Evangelist  first  kindled  with  the  fire 
of  redeeming  love,  and  became  inspired  with  the 
idea  of  publishing  to  all  nations  its  glorious  tidings  ? 
Was  this  stolen,  mangled,  lifeless  corpse  the  only 
rallying-point  of  Christians  %  Was  it  the  sight  of 
this  that  reclaimed  the  apostate  Peter,  that  supported 
the  martyr  Stephen,  that  collected,  that  bound  toge- 
ther, that  fortified,  and  filled  with  the  most  daring 
courage,  with  the  most  deathless  hopes,  the  whole 
body  of  the  disciples?  Especially  was  it  this  that 
converted  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Paul, 
you  know,  was  an  erudite  man.  He  was  a  Pharisee : 
he  was  an  inveterate  enemy  to  Christians.  Already 
they  had  felt  his  inexorable  vengeance.  Intent  on 
the  extermination  of  the  sect,  and  swelling  with  rage, 
he  hastened  to  Damascus.  On  his  way  thither  some- 
thing occurred  that  produced  an  entire  change  in  his 
views  and  in  his  conduct — a  change  that  astonished 
the  Jews,  that  astonished  the  Christians,  that  astonish- 
ed the  Pagans.  Now,  what  was  it  that  produced  that 
change  ?  He  himself  tells  us,  that  it  was  the  sight  of 
that  same  Jesus  who  was  crucified  on  Calvary,  and 
whom  he  himself,  in  the  person  of  his  disciples,  had 
so  sorely  persecuted.  The  sight  of  Jesus  Christ ! 
What  sight  of  him  ?     Was  it  that  of  the  malefactor's 


60  THE   RESURRECTION. 

body,  deprived  of  life,  covered  with  wounds,  and 
stolen  ingloriously  from  the  rich  Arimathean's  rock- 
excavated  tomb  ?  Was  it  the  sight  of  this  dishonored 
body,  buried  with  infamy,  and  with  infamy  dug  up 
again,  that  struck  the  unrelenting  Paul  with  trem- 
bling, made  him  drop  from  his  hand  the  accursed 
commission  of  his  cruelty,  and,  humbled  in  dust, 
exclaim,  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  Trie  to  do  ?  Was 
it  this  that  made  him  forever  thereafter  glory  in  the 
cross,  and  hail  the  Galilean  who  agonized  thereon  as 
the  promised  Messiah,  the  light  and  salvation  of  the 
world  ?  Was  it  this  that  fired  his  bosom  with  such 
dauntless  fortitude,  and  touched  his  lips  with  such 
seraphic  eloquence  while  traversing  the  great  repub- 
lic, and  publishing  redeeming  love  at  Jerusalem,  at 
Corinth,  at  Athens,  and  at  Rome  ?  And  finally,  was 
it  this,  after  having  borne  him  triumphantly  through 
the  pains  and  perils  of  a  most  disastrous  life,  that 
prompted,  in  the  near  approach  of  death,  that  raptu- 
rous exclamation,  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  up, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
finished  my  course,  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I 
have  kept  the  faith,  and  there  is  henceforth  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  righteous 
Lord  will  deliver  unto  me ;  and  not  to  me  only,  but 
to  all  them  that  love  his  appearing. 

If  indeed  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  was  stolen  from 
the  sepulchre  by  his  disciples,  as  the  watch  say,  then 
I  affirm  that  the  effects  which  that  theft  produced 
were  contrary  to  nature,  and  therefore  miraculous. 
For  I  cannot  contemplate  those  effects  without  say- 
ing, nor  without  being  compelled  to  say,  that  in  their 
production  there  was  an  interposition  of  Heaven,  and 
that  this  is  the  finger  of  God. 


THE  ALLEGED  THEFT  OF  THE  SAVIOURS  BODY.   61 

This  tale,  therefore,  of  the  rifling  of  the  sepulchre, 
circulated  by  the  watch,  and  which  the  Jews  repeat- 
ed and  still  repeat,  is  a  falsehood  as  useless  as  it  is 
jpalpable;  useless,  because  it  leaves  unaccounted  for 
difficulties  as  insuperable  as  those  which  it  is  fabri- 
cated to  explain. 

To  admit  its  truth,  therefore,  is  merely  to  displace 
one  miracle  by  the  substitution  of  another.  And  the 
simple  and  the  only  question  to  be  decided  is,  whether 
we  shall  believe  the  former  miracle,  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,  on  the  highest  of  all  possible  evi- 
dence, or  the  latter  marvel  of  incredibility  on  no 
evidence  at  all. 

"  He  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried."  All  Jeru- 
salem witnessed  this  series,  of  events.  So  far,  no 
transactions  were  ever  more  public  or  more  solemnly 
authenticated.  To  disbelieve  them  is  to  reject  all 
history  of  the  past  as  utterly  worthless.  JSTo  grave 
was  ever  more  carefully  guarded.  If  their  hopes  had 
not  all  been  crushed,  the  disciples  had  indeed  a  mo- 
tive for  joy  in  the  idea  of  a  risen  Saviour ;  but  to 
have  stolen  away  his  dead  remains  would  have  been 
spiritual  death  to  every  lingering  expectation.  That 
ghastly  theft,  as  it  has  been  fairly  pictured  to  you,  no 
man  can  believe.  What,  then,  became  of  the  body 
of  the  Crucified  ?  The  question  must  remain  unan- 
swerable, unless  we  go  on  to  the  next  article  of  the 
early  creed :  "  On  the  third  day  he  rose  from  the 
dead."  ]STo  other  event  could  account  for  the  reani- 
mation  of  the  disciples  ;  no  other  event  coxild  give  the 
reason  of  that  new,  unworldly  light  and  life  which 
have  ever  since  been  streaming  forth  from  that  sepul- 
chre to  change  the  whole  moral  and  spiritual  aspect 
of  the  world. 


IV. 

THE   ATTESTING   DESCENT   OF   THE    SPIRIT. 

Whereof  he  hath  given  (insurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised 
Jam  from  the  dead.    Acts  acvii.  31. 

You  have  heard  numerous  and  unimpeachable 
witnesses  attest  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ ;  you 
have  seen  that  a  train  of  well-connected  circumstances 
corroborates  their  testimony.  It  only  remains  to  be 
shown  that 

There  are  other  and  incontrovertible  facts  confirm 
ing  and  establishing  this  previous  fact. 

What  other  and  incontrovertible  facts  are  these, 
confirming  and  establishing  this  previous  fact  %  The 
descent  of  the  Spirit — the  power  of  miracles — the 
spread  of  Christianity. 

The  descent  of  the  Spirit. 

Jesus  Christ  promised  that  the  Spirit  should  de- 
scend upon  his  disciples  after  he  had  arisen.  In  con- 
firmation of  this  promise,  the  Spirit  did  so  descend. 
What  evidence  is  there  of  it  ?  A  sudden  and  mar- 
vellous change  wrought  on  them.  The  disciples, 
destitute  originally  of  all  great  and  shining  qualities, 
distinguished  by  no  peculiar  aptitude  for  acquiring 
those  which  they  possessed  not,  and  at  a  time  of  life, 
too,  when  the  human  character,  having  attained  its 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF   THE    SPIRIT.  G3 

full  rigidity,  is  no  longer  capable  of  being  re-moulded 
by  ordinary  means ;  even  then,  they  were  suddenly 
transformed  into  prodigies  of  wisdom,  of  virtue, 
and  of  fortitude,  both  in  action  and  in  suffering. 

"We  have  already  glanced  at  their  lives.  Incom- 
parable men,  as  we  have  seen,  they  indeed  were. 
Such,  however,  they  were  not  from  the  beginning. 
Such  they  were  not  even  at  the  time  of  their  Master's 
death.  His  resurrection  ensued.  A  sudden  transfor- 
mation took  place  ;  a  transformation  worthy  to  have 
been  produced  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  at  the  very 
time  of  its  promised  descent. 

It  entered  into  the  original  plan  of  Jesus  Christ,  as 
appears  from  his  own  explicit  declaration,  to  suffer, 
to  die,  and  to  rise  again.  On  this  foundation  was  he 
to  rear  a  kingdom  vast  in  extent  and  endless  in  dura- 
tion ;  a  kingdom  new  in  its  origin,  in  its  object,  in  its 
laws,  and  'in  its  administration  ;  a  kingdom  which 
would  subvert  all  other  kingdoms,  and  remain  itself 
exclusive  and  universal. 

As  the  basis  of  this  projected  kingdom  was  to  be 
laid  by  the  death  of  its  Founder,  the  entire  superstruc- 
ture was  to  be  reared  by  subordinate  agents,  and  in 
the  absence  of  the  Principal.  Whom  did  he  select 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  high  purpose  ?  On 
whose  brow  did  he  place  the  mitre?  Into  whose 
hands  did  he  commit  the  sceptre  ?  "Who  were  ap- 
pointed to  be  the  heralds  of  his  law  and  the  executors 
of  his  government?  "Were  any  individuals  of  original 
and  splendid  talents  selected  ?  any  of  great  wealth  or 
powerful  connections  1  any  profound  scholars  or 
sagacious  statesmen  ?  The  choice  was  not  made  of 
such.  On  the  contrary,  the  agents  appointed  to  exe- 
cute were  as  little  and  as  impotent  as  the  design  to  be 


G-i  THE  KESUBKECTTON. 

executed  was  vast  and  mighty.  In  defiance  of  all 
the  maxims  of  human  prudence,  as  if  to  take  from 
unbelief  the  shadow  of  an  apology,  and  make  it  mani- 
fest to  every  eye  that  God's  right  hand  had  done  this 
thing,  the  wealth,  the  power,  the  talents,  the  learning, 
the  influence  of  the  world  were  disregarded,  and  a 
selection  made  that  promised  nothing  but  defeat  and 
disgrace.  Obscure,  uneducated,  ignoble  men  were 
preferred ;  men  ignorant,  rash,  dull,  intractable. 
Fishermen,  tent-makers,  toll-gatherers  were  preferred. 
Twelve  such  men,  without  any  previous  advantages, 
and  with  all  the  prejudices,  passions,  and  habits  pecu- 
liar to  their  stations  and  callings,  were  suddenly  col- 
lected, and  invested  with  authority  more  absolute  and 
awful  than  had  ever  before  been  committed  to  mor- 
tals. To  them  were  delivered  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  Whose  soever  sins  they  remitted  were  to 
be  remitted,  whose  soever  sins  they  retained  were  to 
be  retained. 

To  qualify  them  for  the  duties  of  this  fearful  office, 
they  were  admitted  into  the  family,  and  taken  under 
the  tuition  of  Jesus  Christ.  Three  years  they  accom- 
panied him  in  his  travels,  saw  his  miracles,  and  heard 
his  lectures.  But  so  slow  of  understanding  were 
they,  that,  at  the  end  of  these  three  years,  they  seemed 
still  to  be  mere  fishermen,  still  incapable,  under  any 
culture,  of  becoming  qualified  for  a  holier  or  higher 
calling.  They  neither  comprehended  his  doctrine, 
nor  sympathized  with  him  in  his  design.  His  humi- 
lity offended  them.  They  were  scandalized  at  his 
cross:  they  were  ignorant  of  his  prerogatives,  and 
unbelieving  in  respect  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  prom- 
ises. All  the  attempts  which  had  been  made  to  en- 
lighten their  understandings  and  elevate  their  minds 


THE    ATTESTING   DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  C5 

above  present  and  sensible  objects  seemed  to  have 
been  abortive.  By  parables,  by  similitudes,  by  fami- 
liar conversations,  as  well  as  by  formal  and  set  dis- 
courses, they  had  been  instructed  ;  but  to  little  pur- 
pose. 

They  entered  not  into  the  spirit  of  these  discourses ; 
they  understood  not  the  things  that  were  spoken. 
They  were  still,  as  they  ever  had  been,  ignorant  and 
unteachable,  slow  to  understand,  as  well  as  to  believe, 
not  only  what  the  prophets,  but  what  Christ  himself 
had  said.  It  was  on  this  account  that,  deploring  the 
state  in  which  he  was  about  to  leave  them,  and 
grieved  at  their  habitual  dulness  and  intractableness, 
he  addressed  to  them  that  pointed  and  sharp  rebuke, 
O  faithless  generation,  how  long  shall  I  be  with 
you  ?     How  long  shall  I  bear  with  you  ? 

Such  were  the  disciples  when  Jesus  Christ  closed 
by  death  his  ministry.  They  no  more  understood  his 
claims,  or  the  nature  of  his  kingdom,  than  did  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  or  the  populace  who  flocked 
together  where  he  passed,  that  they  might  see  his* 
miracles,  and  partake  of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  Know- 
ing them  to  be  such,  what  could  he  expect  from  them  ? 
ITow  could  he  suppose  they  would  ever  be  able  to 
administer  his  government,  to  expound  his  laws,  or 
even  to  answer  with  wisdom  and  pertinency  the  in- 
terrogatories addressed  to  them  by  magistrates  and 
kings  %  He  tells  us,  he  told  them,  how  he  expected 
this.  Hear  his  words.  "  If  I  depart,  I  will  send  the 
Comforter  unto  you.  When  He,  the  spirit  of  truth, 
is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth.  And  when 
they  bring  you  unto  the  synagogues,  and  unto  magis- 
trates and  powers,  take  no  thought  beforehand  how 
or  what  you  shall  answer ;  neither  premeditate ;  for 


66  THE   RESURRECTION. 

the  Holy  Ghost  shall  teach  you  in  the  same  hour 
what  you  ought  to  say." 

With  these  prophetic  words  the  event  coincided. 
From  the  moment  of  the  promised  descent  of  the 
spirit,  these  weak  men,  these  illiterate  men,  these 
stupid  and  intractable  men  were  suddenly  endowed 
with  the  highest  knowledge.  They  became  instantly 
wiser  than  the  Jews,  wiser  than  Abraham,  wiser  than 
Moses,  wiser  than  Solomon,  wiser  than  the  Romans, 
wiser  than  the  Greeks.  They  understood  the  law, 
they  understood  the  gospel ;  things  past,  things  fu- 
ture, things  invisible,  even  the  hidden  mysteries  of 
the  kingdom  of  God,  are  known  to  them.  They  bring 
forth  things  new  and  things  old  as  from  an  ex- 
haustless  treasury.  To  the  pious  they  are  sons  of 
consolation ;  to  the  impious,  sons  of  thunder.  They 
confront  the  Sanhedrim,  they  encounter  the  Epicu- 
reans, they  silence  the  Stoics.  They  deliver  prophe- 
cies, they  promulgate  laws,  they  perfect  and  consum- 
mate a  system  so  matchless,  so  transcendent,  as  to 
have  become  and  remain  the  glory  of  the  Church  and 
the  admiration  of  the  world ;  a  system  replete  with 
the  most  exalted  and  sublime  ideas  of  God,  with  the 
most  accurate  and  comprehensive  judgments  of  man  ; 
a  system  containing  the  most  exact  and  striking  pre- 
sentation of  the  civic  and  social  relations,  together 
with  the  rights  and  obligations  springing  out  of  them  ; 
a  system  perfect  and  finished,  in  which  nothing  is 
defective,  nothing  redundant;  a  system  which  re- 
quires no  revision,  which  admits  of  no  emendation  ; 
a  system  so  holy,  so  true,  so  universal  and  unchang- 
ing in  its  principles,  as  to  be,  like  the  laws  of  nature 
and  of  God,  suited  to  all  stages  of  society,  to  all 
nations  and  asres  of  the  world. 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  67 

The  institutions  of  Solon  have  become  obsolete  ; 
the  Laws  of  Lycurgus  have  perished  ;  the  pandects  of 
Justinian  have  ceased  to  be  the  rule  of  life  ;  the  great 
body  of  the  Roman  law  has  been  amended  and  re- 
modelled ;  but  the  gospel  remains  unchanged.  Now, 
as  formerly,  it  is  most  honorable  to  God,  most  bene- 
ficial to  man.  The  lapse  of  eighteen  centuries  has 
brought  to  light  no  blemish  or  defect ;  it  still  bears 
the  same  strong  impress  of  Eternal  wisdom  and  good- 
ness that  it  did  when  uttered  by  the  lips  and  inscribed 
by  the  pens  of  the  apostles.  Its  unrivalled  perfection 
even  its  enemies  acknowledge.  Those  who  deny  its 
inspiration  are  compelled  to  concede  that  there  is 
nowhere  else  embodied  a  system  of  morals  so  pure, 
or  of  doctrines  so  sublime. 

The  ancients  have  furnished  no  such  specimen  of 
virtue  or  of  wisdom  ;  all  that  is  purest  in  modern 
ethics  has  been  derived  from  it. 

The  New  Testament  stands  confessedly  alone  pre- 
eminent ;  not  only  unapproached,  but  unapproachable. 
Such  a  work,  at  such  a  time,  by  such  men,  unless 
God  had  inspired  them,  is  impossible  ;  its  very  exis- 
tence is  a  monument  that,  standing  like  a  pyramid 
among  the  moral  ruins  of  the  world,  perpetuates,  and 
must  forever  perpetuate  the  evidence  of  one  fact : — 
the  descent  of  the  Spirit.  Nor  is  this  all.  These 
once  ignorant,  narrow-minded,  and  indocile  fishermen 
not  only  embody  this  wonderful  system  of  doctrines 
and  duties,  but  they  also  publicly  and  extemporane- 
ously illustrate,  explain,  defend,  and  enforce  it  with 
a  sagacity  and  facility  that  amazes.  The  fact  is  the 
more  wonderful  that  they  do  this  with  equal  ease,  per- 
spicuity, fluency,  and  power  in  all  the  known  varieties 
of  Eastern  languages.     Yes,  unlettered  as  they  were, 


68  THE    RESURRECTION. 

and  without  any  previous  study,  or  previous  residence 
elsewhere  than  in  Palestine,  and  though  not  called 
from  their  fish-nets  till  the  maturity  of  manhood, 
they  understand  perfectly  all  the  dialects  existing  in 
the  Roman  Empire  and  beyond  it.  From  the  Indus 
to  the  Rhone,  from  the  Caspian  to  the  Red  Sea,  there 
is  not  a  known  tongue  in  which  the  Gospel  is  not 
proclaimed.  "  Parthians,  Medes,  Elamites,  and  the 
dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Judea  and  Cappa- 
docia,  in  Pontus  and  in  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pamphy- 
lia,  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene  ; 
and  strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes 
and  Arabians,  heard  them  speak,  in  their  own  tongues, 
the  wonderful  works  of  God." 

However  the  Apostles  may  have  acquired  this 
unusual  knowledge  and  use  of  language,  the  fact 
that  it  was  so  employed  is  one  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
call  in  question.  The  Gospel  was  certainly  preached, 
not  only  at  Jerusalem,  at  Corinth,  at  Athens,  and  at 
Rome,  but  also  in  Gaul,  in  Egypt,  in  Arabia,  in 
Syria,  in  India,  in  Mesopotamia,  and  elsewhere,  dur- 
ing the  lives  of  the  Apostles  themselves.  Monuments 
of  antiquity  attest  this  wondrous  fact ;  churches 
planted  by  the  Apostles,  and  remaining  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  demonstrate  its  truth.  The  Apostles  actu- 
ally preached  the  Gospel  to  these  different  kindreds, 
tongues,  and  people.  These  different  kindreds,  tongues, 
and  people  heard  the  Gospel  preached  by  them.  There 
is  but  one  alternative.  Either  the  unlettered  popu- 
lace of  all  these  nations  understood  the  native  lan- 
<xuac;e  of  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  or  the  unlettered 
fishermen  of  Galilee  were  in  some  way  enabled  to 
understand  the  native  language  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  carried  the  Gospel. 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  G9 

We  have  missionaries  in  India,  and  some  have  been 
there  for  years.  It  was  only  after  much  previous 
preparation  at  home  that  they  were  sent  out  to  evan- 
gelize the  heathen.  Some  of  them  have  not  even  yet 
commenced  their  oral  mission.  Though  impatient  of 
delay,  and  surrounded  by  idolaters,  they  are  still 
silent.  Though  they  profess  to  be  the  bearers  of  sal- 
vation, no  Hindoo  or  Burman  auditory  has  been  in- 
structed by  their  epistles,  or  even  heard  from  their 
lips  the  enunciation  of  the  glad  tidings.  Whence 
this  delay  ?  It  is  inevitable.  They  are  acquiring 
the  language  of  the  natives ;  nor  can  they,  great  as 
their  desire  may  be,  and  urgent  as  the  necessity  may 
be,  convey  one  idea  of  Christ,  of  faith,  of  forgiveness, 
or  of  heaven,  till  they  shall  have  made  the  acquisi- 
tion. And  yet,  who  ever  heard,  in  the  apostolic  age, 
of  any  school  of  language  but  that  opened  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  or  of  any  other  teacher  of  language  than 
the  Holy  Ghost  ?  On  what  occasion  did  Peter,  or 
James,  or  John  suspend  their  mission,  and  linger  in 
silence  on  the  borders  of  idolatrous  nations  till  they 
had  acquired  from  the  natives  the  import  of  their 
terms,  and  their  tone  of  utterance  ?  Who  of  them, 
or  of  their  unlettered  coadjutors,  called  suddenly  to 
address  a  world  lying  in  wickedness,  ever  declined  a 
mission  to  the  east  or  to  the  west,  to  the  north  or  to 
the  south,  because  the  languages  of  those  regions 
were  unknown  to  them  ?  On  the  contrary,  ever  fur- 
nished, ever  prepared,  ever  active,  they  compassed 
sea  and  land  ;  nor  did  the  peculiar  shibboleth  of  any 
nation,  however  refined,  however  barbarous,  render 
them  inaccessible  to  the  living  voice  of  these  primi- 
tive Evangelists,  these  daring  and  adventurous  de- 
claimers  against  all  unrighteousness.     Look  over  the 


70  THE   RESURRECTION. 

great  map  of  ancient  Christendom ;  see  what  a  vast 
extent  of  country,  and  what  different  tongues  and 
people  were  scattered  through  it.  This  extent  of 
country  the  disciples  traversed,  and,  without  any 
previously  acquired  knowledge  of  the  varieties  of 
language  which  they  met  with,  everywhere  alike 
preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  as  they  went. 

How  did  they  do  this  ?  By  hieroglyphics  and  pan- 
tomime ?  Was  Christianity  promulgated  in  Greece 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  Greek,  or  at  Rome  with- 
out the  Latin  %  Was  it  promulgated  in  Arabia  with- 
out the  Arabic,  in  Syria  without  the  Syriac,  or  in  the 
peninsula  of  India  without  the  ancient  Malabar, 
where  eastern  as  well  as  western  tradition  makes  it 
certain  that  St.  Thomas  preached,  and  founded 
churches  ?  The  contrary  supposition  has  far  greater 
difficulties  than  the  admission  of  the  miraculous  gift. 
The  broad  fact  that  churches  were  founded  by  them 
in  so  many  countries,  even  though  the  sacred  histori- 
an had  been  silent  on  that  article,  would  demonstrate 
that,  in  addition  to  the  profuundest  knowledge  of 
ethics,  these  mysterious  fishermen  understood  and 
could  speak  more  languages,  to  say  the  least,  than 
the  most  learned  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  It 
Avas  not  a  common  faculty,  even  regarded  as  acquired. 
The  admiration  expressed  for  Josephus  on  account  of 
his  good  knowledge  of  Greek  shows  that  this  power 
of  speaking  foreign  tongues  was  an  extraordinary  ac- 
complishment in  ancient  times. 

Hindered  by  their  previous  occupations,  and  pre- 
cluded during  half  their  lives  from  all  the  ordinary 
sources  of  intellectual  improvement,  whence  did  they 
so  suddenly  derive  this  consummate  and  finished  edu- 
cation ?     What  teacher  with   such   matchless   skill 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT   OF    THE    SPIRIT.  71 

opened  to  their  minds  the  treasures  of  celestial  wis- 
dom, attuned  their  organs  to  the  utterance  of  such 
divine  language,  and  touched  their  lips  with  the  fire 
of  such  varied  and  seraphic  eloquence  ?  By  what 
miraculous  tutelage  were  they  made  at  once  the  most 
enlightened  sages  ;  the  most  consummate  orators  ? 
Who  can  account  for  this  %  or  rather,  who  cannot 
account  for  it  ?  For  who  can  open  that  volume  of 
moral  science,  of  sacred  literature,  so  replete  with 
whatever  can  enlighten,  can  exalt  and  purify  the  soul 
— who  can  behold  its  venerable  authors,  with  their 
sandals  bound  upon  their  feet,  their  locks  bleached 
with  the  dews  of  every  climate,  conveying  glad  tid- 
ings and  publishing  salvation  to  the  Jews,  to  the  Ro- 
mans, to  the  Greeks,  to  the  Assyrians,  to  the  Egyptians, 
to  the  Arabians,  and  the  Hindoos — standing  before 
tribunals  and  answering  judges  and  rulers  of  the 
earth  with  a  majesty  that  never  sinks,  with  a  compo- 
sure that  is  never  interrupted,  with  a  wisdom  that 
never  errs,  with  eloquence  becoming  the  ministers  of 
heaven,  the  accredited  ambassadors  of  God  to  man ; 
who  can  do  this,  I  say,  and  not  recall  to  mind  those  pro- 
phetic words  of  Christ,  which  we  have  before  quoted, 
"  If  I  go  away,  I  will  send  the  comforter  unto  you. 
"When  he,  the  spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth.  And  when  they  bring  you  before 
magistrates  and  powers,  take  no  thought  beforehand 
how  or  what  you  shall  answer ;  neither  premeditate, 
for  the  Holy  Ghost  will  teach  you  in  the  same  hour 
what  you  ought  to  say." 

But  not  with  knowledge  only  were  they  endowed. 
At  the  time  of  the  promised  descent  of  the  Spirit, 

They  became  suddenly  prodigies  of  virtue,  as  well 
as  of  wisdom. 


72  THE   RESURRECTION. 

The  transformation  which  then  took  place  in  their 
moral  characters  was  as  sudden,  as  entire,  and  as 
glorious  as  that  which  took  place  in  their  intellectual 
condition. 

After  relinquishing  their  humble  occupations,  and 
during  the  natural  life  of  their  Master,  place  and 
power  seem  to  have  been  their  principal  objects. 
They  were  Tain ;  they  were  selfish;  they  were  jeal- 
ous ;  they  were  resentful,  and  covetous  of  wealth  and 
honor.  To  whatever  concerned  the  body  they  were 
alive.  They  aspired  to  the  highest  seat ;  they  con- 
sidered nobility  to  be  the  chief  beatitude,  and  their 
heads  were  filled  perpetually  with  some  dream  of  tem- 
poral glory.  Their  present  poverty  and  dependence 
were  their  humiliation.  Proud  even  in  anticipation, 
they  jealously  weighed  their  respective  claims,  and 
with  an  evil  eye  looked  forward  to  the  pomp  and 
splendor  which  they  conceived  were  held  in  reser- 
vation. 

Hence  their  secret  rivalries  ;  hence  their  open  and 
disgraceful  wranglings  ;  hence  their  society  in  retire- 
ment was  embittered,  and  their  very  journeys  filled 
with  strife.  After  hearing  from  their  Master  the 
most  heavenly  lessons,  and  while  yet  within  the  reach 
of  his  eye  and  the  sound  of  his  voice,  they  indulged 
in  emulation  and  quarrelled  about  pre-eminence.  On 
the  part  of  James  and  John  a  request  is  preferred  to 
Jesus  Christ  himself  that  the  one  might  sit  on  his 
right  hand  and  the  other  on  his  left  in  that  imagined 
kingdom  with  which  their  ambition  wTas  inflamed,  but 
which  he  came  not  to  establish.  The  other  disciple?, 
far  from  cherishing  any  ingenuous  feelings,  and  as 
eager  for  preferment  as  the  ambitious  brothers,  were 
filled  with  indignation. 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  73 

By  example,  by  admonition,  by  precept,  did  their 
august  Teacher  endeavor  to  heal  their  dissensions  and 
eradicate  the  unhallowed  passions  which  produced 
them,  but  in  vain.  In  vain  he  expostulated  with 
them  ;  in  vain,  when  they  inquired  of  him  concerning 
precedence  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  did  he  signifi- 
cantly place  a  little  child  in  the  midst  of  them,  add- 
ing, "  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 
Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  humble  himself  and  be- 
come as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  the  greatest  in 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  In  vain  did  he  say  to  them, 
"  Ye  know  that  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise 
dominion  over  them,  and  they  that  are  great  exercise 
authority  upon  them ;  but  it  shall  not  be  so  among 
you ;  but  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him 
be  your  minister ;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant,  Even  as  the 
Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many." 

Even  this  lesson  of  heavenly  wisdom,  enforced  by 
his  own  divine  example,  was  lost  upon  them ;  and, 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  their  perverseness  continued 
to  the  end.  Take  the  scene  of  the  last  sad  night  be- 
fore the  passion.  Behold  them  rising  from  the  sacra- 
mental table,  that  altar  of  peace,  where,  since  that 
day,  so  many  reconciliations  have  been  effected,  so 
many  resentments  buried,  so  many  worldly  honors 
abjured,  so  many  malignant  passions  sacrificed;  be- 
hold them,  I  say,  rising  from  that  table,  and  at  a  time, 
too,  when  all  the  solemn  circumstances  of  the  cruci- 
fixion were  just  in  prospect,  still  indulging  in  the; 
most  worldly  and  selfish  feelings.  See  them  going 
forth  on  such  a  night  as  that  without  humility,  with- 


T-i  THE   RESURRECTION. 

out  charity,  their  souls  inflamed  with  unholy  carnal 
animosities.  Even  then  there  was  "strife  among  them, 
which  of  them  should  be  accounted  the  greatest" 

Good  God !  what  ministers  these  to  be  intrusted 
with  the  administration  of  that  future  kingdom  of 
peace,  of  charity,  of  humility,  and  self-denial,  about 
to  be  established  on  the  earth !  Yvmat  but  abortion 
and  disgrace  could  be  expected  from  agents  thus  sel- 
fish and  discordant  ?  If  the  living  example  of  meek- 
ness which  their  Master  set  before  them  was  unavail- 
■  ing ;  if  his  will  authoritatively  expressed  in  person 
was  unavailing ;  if  the  humbling  consideration  of 
his  death  in  prospect  was  unavailing  to  quench  their 
ambition  and  prevent  their  strife,  what  but  perpetual 
broils  could  be  expected  when  these  restraints  should 
be  taken  off  and  that  unhallowed  passion,  so  long  par- 
tially repressed,  should  be  permitted  to  break  forth 
in  its  violence  and  operate  unchecked. 

Nor  ambition  only.  Other  and  marked  indications 
of  a  carnal  temper  were  apparent.  A  village  of  Sa- 
maria had  refused  to  treat  them  with  urbanity.  Un- 
able to  brook  the  insult,  they  meditated  its  destruction. 
More  than  this  ;  they  had  the  effrontery  to  approach 
that  benignant  Saviour,  who  never  exhibited  himself 
before  them  but  in  the  attitude  of  clemency,  and  to 
say  to  Him,  "  Wilt  thou  that  we  " — mark  this  emphatic 
word — "  Wilt  thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come 
down  from  Jieaven  and  consume  them  f  " 

Be  not  deceived.  It  was  no  holy  impulse  of  rev- 
erential homage  for  the  Son  of  God  ;  it  was  no  sud- 
den throb  of  religious  horror  excited  by  this  first 
token  of  rejection  that  prompted  their  interrogation. 
They  as  little  understood  the  dignity  of  his  nature  as 
the  object  of  his  mission.     It  was  not  in  the  char- 


THE   ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  ?5 

acter  of  a  Saviour  from  sin  that  they  had  enlisted 

under  his  banner.     It  was  the  ambition  of  dignitaries, 

not  the  ardent  love  of  redeemed  sinners,  that  inflamed 

them.     The  vain  bauble  of  a  temporal  principality 

was  perpetually  in  prospect.     Like  the  ministers  of 

some  petty  tyrant,  they  were  filled  with  strange  ideas 

of  personal  consequence,  and  would,  had  their  Master 

permitted  them,  have  avenged  a  personal  affront  by 

sweeping  a  whole  village  filled  with  human  beings 

from  the  earth.     Hence  that  pointed  and  piercing 

reproof  which  He  addressed  to  them  :  "Ye  know  not 

what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of.     For  the  Son  of 

man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save 

them:' 

Everything  bespoke  in  them  a  calculating  and  a 
carnal  policy.     When  a  devout  woman,  in  token  of 
reverence  for  her  Saviour,  poured  on  his  head  an  ala- 
baster box  of  very  precious  ointment,  these  same  dis- 
ciples, who  would  have  destroyed  an  entire  village  of 
Samaria  for  not  receiving  them  with  hospitality,  were 
filled  with  indignation,  and  said,  in  a  tone  of  unbe- 
coming  censure,    To   what  purpose  is  this  waste  ? 
Again  their  Master  rebuked  them.     He  points  them, 
by  way  of  contrast,  to  the  humble  penitent,  and  then 
adds   these  memorable   words:    "Wheresoever    this 
gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  there  shall 
also  this,  that  this  woman  hath  done,  be  told  for  a 
memorial  of  her" 

As  if  they  alone  were  privileged  with  unrestrained 
access  to  his  sacred  person,  whom  they  deemed  to  be 
the  king  of  the  Jews,  the  approach  of  others  appeared 
obtrusive  and  gave  them  umbrage.  Not  even  believ- 
ing parents  would  have  gained  admittance  for  the 
presentation  of  their  infants  had  not  he  benignantly 


70  THE   KESUXRECTION. 

interposed  and  cheeked  the  officious  forwardness  of 
his  disciples  who  forbade  them. 

Even  the  miraculous  powers  with  which  they  were 
on  a  certain  occasion  temporarily  endowed  were  con- 
sidered not  so  much  as  gifts  for  the  relief  of  misery, 
for  the  confirmation  of  faith,  and  the  edification  of 
the  Church,  as  personal  badges  of  official  distinction. 
Hence,  when  they  saw  one  casting  out  devils,  though 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  they  looked  upon  it  as  an  in- 
fringement of  their  prerogative,  and,  with  an  air  of 
authority,  commanded  him  to  desist. 

During  that  mysterious  scene  of  suffering  termed 
the  agony  they  seem  to  have  been  almost  wholly  un- 
moved. Far  from  exhibiting  any  just  or  generous 
sympathy  with  their  Master,  these  disciples  slept. 
Rising  from  the  blood-bedewed  earth,  he  awakes  them 
from  their  slumbers,  he  addresses  them  in  words  of 
deepest  anguish  :  "  My  soul  is  exceeding  *  sorrowful, 

*  This  is  one  of  those  passages  in  which  the  reader  especially 
needs  the  power  of  Dr.  Nott's  most  impressive  delivery,  as  it  is 
also  one  which  will  most  vividly  recall  him  to  the  minds  of  those 
who  were  privileged  to  hear  him  in  his  prime,  long  years  ago. 
The  calm  yet  impassioned  action,  the  solemn  and  emphatic  pauses, 
above  all,  the  pleading  tones  of  that  voice,  so  clear  in  its  lowest 
whispers,  furnished  an  exegesis  of  this  scriptural  scene  that  the 
utmost  efforts  of  any  mere  critical  explanation  must  fail  to  reach. 
The  bare  words,  however,  when  carefully  studied,  are  eminently 
suggestive  of  all  that  such  a  delivery  would  aim  at  conveying. 
HzplAvnos,  a  term  superlative  in  force  if  not  in  form,  fitted  with 
sorrow,  all  environed  with  sorrow,  drowned  in  sorrow,  "exceed- 
ing sorrowful,  even  unto  death."  Then,  too,  that  strange  and 
very  unusual  word,  aSrifiovtiv  (Matt.  xxvi.  37),  rendered  "  to  be 
very  heavy"  rather,  to  be  very  lonely,  desolate,  &dvp-os,  away  from 
one's  kindred  or  people— in  a  strange  world,  in  a  strange  land, 
forsaken  of  God  and  deserted  by  men.  "  Tarry  ye  here."  Our 
English  word  tarry  has  other  senses,  which  prevent  its  adequately 
representing  the  original  in   this  place:    "Stay  here" — "stay 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    5ITKIT.  77 

even  unto  death  ;  tarry  ye  here  and  watch."  Again 
the  wondrous,  the  mysterious  cry,  Abba,  Father ! 
"  Abba,  Father  !  Let  this  cup  pass  from  me."  An 
angel  descends  to  strengthen  him,  but  again  the  un- 
feeling disciples  slept. 

When  the  guard  approached  to  apprehend  him,  and 
while  lie,  with  holy  resignation  and  majestic  com- 
posure, advanced  to  meet  them,  his  disciples,  with 
presumption  as  absurd  as  unbecoming,  were  deter- 
mined on  resistance.  The  sword  was  drawn,  and  in 
a  spirit  that  shrank  not  from  the  crime  of  murder, 
and  would  have  stained  the  very  threshold  of  the 
Christian  church  with  human  blood.  But  this  show 
of  heroism  was  as  transient  as  it  was  unhallowed. 
"Wanting  faith  and  firmness  to  meet  the  shock,  as  the 
disciples  of  such  a  Master  ought  to  meet  it,  they 
passed  from  one  extreme  of  weakness  to  another. 
Not  daring  to  do  their  duty,  they  basely  fled,  and 
sought  concealment  amid  the  darkness.  Even  Peter, 
at  first  so  forward,  shrank  from  interrogation,  and  de- 

with  me  ;  0  leave  me  not ;  fall  not  asleep  !  "  The  language  of  the 
whole  passage  denotes  a  strange,  inexplicable  fear  of  some  awful 
enemy,  some  fearful  conflict,  in  which  his  sore  tried  human  na- 
ture, seemingly  forsaken  by  its  divine  strength,  clings  to  human 
company  and  human  sympathy.  There  was  a  sorrow  here,  a  suf- 
fering, an  agony  beyond  all  our  power  of  conceiving.  That  we 
have  not  gone  beyond  the  true  import  of  this  most  mysterious 
passage  is  shown  by  the  language,  Heb.  v.  7:  "Who  in  the  days 
of  his  flesh,  when  he  had  offered  up  prayers  and  supplications, 
with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  him 
from  death."  There  must  have  been  something  that  He  beheld 
iu  that  death  far  beyond  any  conceivable  agony  of  human  disso- 
lution. We  are  compelled  to  think  this,  or  regard  Christ  as  infe- 
rior in  courage  and  in  endurance  to  many  a  heroic  martyr  among 
his  own  followers,  sustained,  professedly,  by  the  Saviour's 
etrength. — Ed. 


78  THE  RESURRECTION. 

nicd  his  discipleship — denied  it  with  an  oath,  with 
cursing  as  well  as  swearing,  with  anathemas  and  im- 
precations, with  language  as  vulgar  and  cowardly  as 
it  was  profane. 

Indeed,  the  history  of  their  lives  during  these  three 
years  is  a  history  of  follies,  of  blindness,  of  blunders, 
and  of  unbelief.  Xo  traits  of  peculiar  promise  were 
as  yet  unfolded,  no  indications  of  subdued  passion  or 
of  progressive  holiness  began  to  be  apparent ;  nor  did 
anything  betoken  that  they  were  shortly  to  become 
exemplars  of  righteousness  and  be  qualified  to  act  as 
reformers  of  the  world. 

Far  from  being  distinguished  saints,  they  were  not 
even  blameless  men.  Far  from  being  worthy  of  the 
school  of  Christ,  they  would  have  done  no  honor  to 
that  of  Plato  or  of  Gamaliel. 

But  mark  the  change.  After  the  promised  descent 
of  the  Spirit,  these  faithless,  forward  fishermen  be- 
came as  rich  in  grace  as  in  knowledge.  The  enlight- 
ening of  their  understandings  and  the  transformation 
of  their  hearts  were  simultaneous,  or  rather  the  latter 
was  the  cause  of  the  former.  It  was  more  than  the 
light  of  intellectual  day  that  broke  upon  their  minds 
so  suddenly.  They  not  only  recognized  in  the  re- 
puted King  of  Israel  the  king  of  righteousness,  but 
they  also,  as  willing  subjects,  hailed  his  reign  and 
bowed  to  do  him  homage.  As  the  great  outlines  of 
his  plan  of  mercy  caught  their  eyes  they  saw  its  vast- 
ness,  they  felt  its  glory.  That  bubble  of  a  temporal 
kingdom  which  the  breath  of  vanity  had  blown 
now  burst ;  and  with  it  every  other  bubble  that  floats 
upon  the  surface  of  the  world.  The  charm  of  robes 
and  diadems  has  fled.  They  were  cured  of  conten- 
tion ;  strifes  about  pre-eminence  are  no  longer  heard 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  79 

of.    No  other  king  but  God  is  recognized  ;  no  crown 
but  that  of  martyrdom  and  immortality. 

Pride  has  been  extirpated  ;  ambition,  every  carnal 
passion,  has  been  slain;  worldly  motives  cease  to 
operate ;  a  holy  tranquillity  ensues,  and  all  the  en- 
dearing charities  of  a  new  nature  springing  up,  appear 
in  vigorous  exercise.  Injuries  are  forgiven  and  for- 
gotten. Enemies  are  kindly  entreated  and  prayed 
for.  The  cross,  once  their  shame,  has  become  their 
glory  ;  poverty  a  beatitude.  Self-denial  is  now  their 
habitual  life  ;  even  stripes  and  imprisonment  are  en- 
dured without  a  murmur. 

These  very  men,  who  once  thought  and  talked  of 
nothing  but  preferment,  now  decline  all  human  ho- 
mage as  an  utter  profanity.  When  the  people  of 
Lystra,  awed  by  the  sight  of  their  miraculous  healing 
power,  would  have  offered  sacrifice,  they  rend  their 
garments,  they  "run  in  among  the  excited  multi- 
tude "  exclaiming,  "  Sirs,  why  do  ye  these  things  % 
we  also  are  men  of  like  passions  with  you,  and  preach 
unto  you  that  ye  should  turn  from  these  vanities, 
unto  the  living  God,  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  the 
sea,  and  all  things  that  are  therein."  These  very 
men,  who  once  would  have  consumed  a  whole  village 
of  Samaritans  for  offering  them  a  slight  affront,  now 
bear  every  indignity  with  a  meekness  that  fills  us 
with  astonishment.  When  injury  is  added  to  insult, 
i  they  supplicate  that  same  Jesus  to  whom  they  for- 
merly addressed  their  imprecations,  for  forgiveness 
in  behalf  of  those  that  mock  them.  These  very  men, 
once  so  carnal  and  selfish,  are  now  abstracted  from 
the  world,  intent  on  heaven,  absorbed  in  God ;  un- 
blamable men  not  only,  but  of  exemplary  lives  and 
consummate  holiness. 


80  THE    RESUERECTIOX. 

Behold  them  in  their  retirement ;  behold  them  in 
their  public  administrations.  Examine  the  temper 
of  their  hearts ;  examine  the  conduct  of  their  lives  ; 
and,  having  done  so,  say  whence  this  peculiarity  of 
character,  so  faultless,  so  sublime,  so  unlike  whatever 
of  goodness  has  elsewhere  appeared  on  the  earth. 
Yes,  look  upon  these  rude,  carnal,  calculating  fisher- 
men of  Galilee,  so  suddenly  and  so  gloriously  trans- 
formed, and  say  whose  impress  this  new  nature  bears ; 
ichose  image  and  superscription  is  this?  The  his- 
toiy  of  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  that  alone,  will 
answer  these  interrogations :  "  And  when  they  were 
all  assembled  with  one  accord,  in  one  place,  suddenly 
there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing: 
mighty  wind.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  So  says  the  history ; 
and  the  heaven- wrought  change  in  the  disciples  which 
we  have  been  contemplating  is  a  proof  of  the  truth  of 
it.     There  are  yet  other  proofs  ;  for  henceforth, 

They  became  also  prodigies  of  fortitude,  heroes, 
loth  in  action  and  in  suffering. 
.  You  need  not  be  told  that  they  were  not  so  origi- 
\  nally,  nor  even  as  late  as  the  crucifixion.  Though 
previously  near  the  person,  and  spectators  of  the 
matchless  majesty  which  signalized  even  the  humilia- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God,  no  peculiar  elevation  of  mind, 
no  marked  decision  of  character,  no  daring  spirit  of 
enterprise,  had  as  yet  begun  to  show  itself.  On  the 
contrary,  they  were  pusillanimous,  distrustful,  irreso- 
lute. Nor  was  it  till  the  spirit  of  their  Master,  like 
the  descending  mantle  of  Elijah,  fell  upon  them,  that 
they  assumed  a  bolder  tone  and  appeared  in  a  sub- 
limer  attitude.     Henceforward  they  speak,  they  act, 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  81 

they  suffer,  with  a  magnanimity  as  novel  as  it  was  glo- 
rious. Self-aggrandizement  is  no  longer  the  spring 
of  action.  Apart  from  the  interests  of  the  Saviour's 
kingdom,  personal  considerations  are  not  so  much  as 
taken  into  computation.  Their  lives  are  accounted 
to  be  only  relatively  valuable.  Even  their  individ- 
uality seems  to  have  been  merged  in  the  interest  of 
that  cause  with  which  they  have  identified  themselves, 
and  over  which  their  hearts,  in  all  the  fervor  of  holy 
affection,  appear  to  be  ever  expanding.  They  seem 
to  have  lost  their  personal  identity  in  the  old  Adam  ; 
they  are  no  longer  Peter,  James,  and  John,  with  their 
individual  peculiarities,  but  men  in  Christ. 

The  question  with  them  is  not  now  as  formerly, 
What  is  our  reward  to  be?  how  much  shall  we  get? 
Other  motives  influence  them ;  other  thoughts  occu- 
py them  ;  other  and  higher  cares  press  upon  them. 
Jesus  Christ  has  risen  from  the  dead ;  they  are  the 
witnesses  of  his  resurrection,  and  they  feel  responsi- 
ble to  God  and  to  the  universe  for  the  promulgation 
of  the  fact. 

They  have  ceased  to  feel  like  citizens  of  the  earth. 
Their  commission  they  believe  to  be  from  heaven, 
and  they  act  only  in  the  character  of  God's  ambassa- 
dors. Those  things  which  allure  other  men,  allure  not 
them  ;  those  things  that  awe  other  men,  awe  not  them. 
They  enter  the  synagogue,  they  face  the  tribunal  of 
justice  and  proclaim  Him,  whom  Pilate  condemned, 
whom  the  Jews  crucified,  to  be  the  promised  Mes- 
siah, made  manifest  by  his  rising  from  the  dead. 

Their  voice  fills  Jerusalem  with  terror ;  Rome 
hears  it  and  trembles.  The  authorities  of  the  world 
attempt  to  silence  them.  Superstition  frowns,  power 
threatens ;  bonds  and  imprisonments  are  prepared ; 


82  THE   RESURRECTION. 

hut  nothing  moves  them  from  their  purpose.  Mild, 
conciliatory,  condescending  with  respect  to  whatever 
was  personal,  they  conceded  nothing,  they  yielded  to 
no  circumstances,  where  official  duty  was  concerned. 
As  men,  they  arrogated  nothing  to  themselves ;  as 
ambassadors  of  God,  they  spake  only  to  command. 
As  messengers  of  Jesus,  they  were  above  concilia-, 
tion,  they  were  beyond  control.  They  owned  no 
other  master ;  they  feared  no  other  vengeance  but 
His  displeasure.  It  had  been  as  easy  to  push  the  sun 
from  his  course  as  to  have  turned  them  from  their 
purpose. 

The  storm  gathers ;  still  undismayed,  they  preach 
Christ  and  him  crucified.  It  breaks  upon  them ;  still 
do  they  preach  Christ.  As  applied  to  them,  the  well- 
known  words  of  the  great  Roman  poet  cease  to  be 
hyperbole :  "  Righteous  men,  and  steady  to  their  aim ; 
no  burning  rage  of  clamorous  mobs  commanding 
evil,  no  look  of  threatening  tyrant  shakes  them  from 
their  solid  purpose ;  though  the  world's  orb  were 
broken  and  dissolved,  still  undismayed  would  the 
ruins  strike  them."  *  Or,  in  the  similar  language  of 
Scripture,  might  we  say,  "  Though  the  earth  were 
removed,  and  the  mountains  cast  into  the  midst  of 

•  the  sea,  still  would  they  not  fear ;  for  the  Lord  (their 
risen  Saviour)  is  now  their  refuge  and  their  strength, 

''their  very  present  help  in  trouble." 

*  Justi  et  tenaces  propositi  viri, 

Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentiurn, 
Non  vultus  instan tis  tyranni 
Mente  quatit  Bolida. 
****** 
Si  fractus  illabatur  orbis, 
Impavidos  feriant  ruinae. 

Horat.  Carm.  III.  3. 


THE    ATTESTING    DESCENT    OF    THE    SPIRIT.  83 

Nor  were  they  less  bold  in  action  than  in  utterance. 
The  diminutive  project  of  erecting  a  little  principal- 
ity, of  which  Jerusalem  was  to  be  the  capital,  had 
given  place  to  the  grand  idea  of  God's  eternal  king- 
dom. Of  this  kingdom  the  whole  earth,  with  all  its 
kindred,  tongues,  and  people,  is  but  a  province, — at 
present  a  rebel  province.  In  the  midst  of  it  stands 
the  throne,  not  of  Jehovah  but  of  Satan,  and  millions 
do  him  homage.  To  recover  this  kingdom  to  right- 
eousness and  to  God  is  their  aim.  It  is  not  desirable 
only,  but,  in  their  adventurous  and  heaven-sustained 
conception,  it  is  practicable  also.  Yes,  these  twelve 
isolated  individuals,  without  friends,  without  learning, 
without  influence,  without  even  sword  or  staff  or 
scrip,  and  with  all  the  power  and  malice  of  men  and 
devils  arrayed  against  them,  are  sanguine,  are  confi- 
dent.    JNTot  a  doubt  lingers  about  their  hearts. 

With  no  armor  but  their  faith,  with  no  resources 
but  their  fortitude,  with  no  weapon  but  the  cross, 
they  hasten  to  the  combat.  The  extended  region  of 
fraud,  of  folly,  and  superstition  lies  before  them. 
Jews,  Romans,  Greeks,  Barbarians,  nations  without 
number  and  without  end  arise  in  prospect. 

These  all,  all  in  their  opinion,  belong  to  Jesus  Christ. 
They  count  upon  them  as  though  they  were  already 
his.  As  his  they  claim  them  ;  nor  do  they  waver  as 
to  the  practicability  of  bringing  this  mighty  host  of 
rebels  to  subjection. 

In  sublimity  of  design,  in  sublimity  of  execution, 
nothing  performed  by  created  beings  exceeds,  noth- 
ing equals  this.  Never  before  did  creatures  so  little 
undertake  so  resolutely  or  execute  so  much. 

Nor  were  they  greater  in  action  than  in  suffering. 
Opposition  to  their  ministry  did  not  terminate  in  men- 


84  THE    RESURRECTION. 

aces.  Unable  to  seduce  or  silence,  the  great  powers 
of  the  world  resolved  to  crush  them.  Instruments  of 
death  were  seized,  engines  of  torture  were  applied. 
Their  heads  were  dissevered  from  their  bodies ;  their 
joints  were  dislocated  ;  their  muscles  were  torn  asun- 
der; but  still  their  spirit  was  not  broken.  The  liv- 
ing gathered  strength  from  the  victory  of  the  dead. 
Coadjutors  were  raised  up  ;  a  similar  impulse  and 
direction  was  given  to  other  minds. 

Had  Plato  any  such  disciples  %  Had  Socrates  any 
such  disciples  ?  Whence  this  matchless  grandeur  of 
character,  so  novel,  so  angelic  ?  It  is  not  surely  of 
earthly  origin.  None  but  a  God  as  potent  as  ours 
could  have  raised  up  such  actors  or  sustained  them 
amid  such  sufferings. 

Behold,  hearer,  the  spirit  of  a  risen  Saviour  reap- 
pearing from  the  sepulchre  in  the  persons  of  his  fol- 
lowers. This  is  one  fact  confirming  and  establishing 
the  previous  fact :  His  resurrection. 


V. 

THE  POWER  OF  MIRACLES. THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Whereof  lie  hath  given,  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath 
raised  him  from  the  dead.     Acts  xvii.  31. 

We  have  already  adduced  one  fact,  the  descent  of 
the  Spirit,  confirming  and  establishing  the  previous 
fact,  the  Resurrection.  The  descent  of  the  Spirit  is 
not,  however,  the  only  fact  that  deserves  to  be  adduced. 
Another,  and  one  no  less  conclusive,  presents  itself. 

The  Power  of  Miracles.  Whence  had  the  dis- 
ciples this  power  ?  you  know  whence  they  profess  to 
have  derived  it.  Announcing  the  resurrection  of 
their  Master,  they  exhibit  at  the  same  time,  and  in 
confirmation,  their  commission  from  Him  to  publish 
the  glad  tidings,  investing  them  with  power  "  To 
heal  the  sicl;  to  cleanse  the  leper,  to  raise  the  dead, 
to  cast  out  demons" 

Under  this  commission  they  act,  and  they  are  taken 
at  their  word.  ISTumerous  subjects  are  presented,  and 
the  validity  of  their  commission  is  confirmed  by  the 
issue.  For  the  sick  that  are  brought  forward  are 
healed ;  the  deaf  hear ;  the  blind  see ;  the  dumb 
speak ;  the  cripple  walks  ;  the  leper  is  cleansed ;  the 
demoniac  is  restored  to  reason,  and  the  dead  to  life. 
Other,  and  yet  other  objects  of  misery  are  presented, 


86  THE    RESUKEECTION. 

and  the  presentation  is  attended  with  the  same  effect. 
Suddenly  their  fame  spreads;  the  cities  they  enter 
are  crowded ;  the  paths  they  travel  thronged  by  im- 
potent people,  and  they  were  healed,,  every  one.  Even 
garments  transmitted  from  their  persons  possessed  a 
healing  virtue ;  beds  and  couches  were  spread  beside 
their  pathways  to  intercept  their  very  shadow.  The 
mere  statement  of  such  a  fact,  the  mere  prevalence 
of  such  a  belief,  shows  how  great  the  change  in  the 
position  of  these  men,  how  strong  the  feeling  that 
they  carried  with  them  a  powder  from  on  high. 
1  What  shall  we  say  to  these  things  %  Did  they  indeed 
exist  ?  So  say  the  sacred  writings.  So  say  all  the 
converts,  all  the  confessors,  all  the  martyrs  ;  so  says 
the  universal  church.  The  millions  that  embraced 
Christianity  during  the  lives  of  the  Apostles,  though 
speaking  different  languages,  and  living  in  different 
hemispheres,  all,  all  with  one  voice  declare  miracles 
to  have  been  among  the  grounds  of  their  faith,  and 
the  means  of  their  conversion. 

There  is  one  thing  in  which  the  friends  and  ene- 
mies of  Christ  were,  of  old,  perfectly  agreed,  namely, 
that  he  and  his-  disciples  wrought  miracles.  The 
Jews,  who  hated  them,  admitted  this.  The  Romans, 
who  persecuted  them,  admitted  this.  Celsus,  Por- 
phyry, Tlierocles,  who  attacked  the  Christian  faith, 
admitted  this.  Julian,  who  apostatized  from  the 
Christian  faith,  admitted  this.  Here  then  is  the  univer- 
sal consent  of  all  antiquity.  Jews,  Christians,  Pagans, 
Philosophers,  Historians,  sacred  and  profane,  give  a 
concurrent  testimony.  There  is  not  one  dissenting 
voice.  Not  a  single  denial ;  not  even  an  intimation 
that  there  ever  was  a  denial  is  to  be  found  on  any  page 
of  antiquity  that  has  reached  our  times.      On  the 


THE    POWEE   OF   MIRACLES.  87 

contrary,  evidence  of  the  miraculous  cures  recorded 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  furnished  and  perpetu- 
ated in  the  very  attacks  of  enemies  themselves.  To 
this  mass  of  evidence  there  is  nothing  to  oppose. 
I\o  fact  of  the  same  antiquity  is  more  incontestably 
authenticated.  It  is  not  more  evident  that  Caesar 
crossed  the  Rubicon,  or  that  Pompey  was  defeated  at 
the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  than  that  Paul  and  Peter 
healed  the  sick,  and  restored  to  sight  and  hearing  the 
blind  and  the  deaf.  The  evidence  can  only  be  evaded 
by  a  sophism  which  coolly  assumes  that  nothing 
wonderful,  or  transcending  the  ordinary  experience 
of  the  one  who  chooses  to  deny  it,  can  possibly  be 
proved  by  any  amount  of  human  testimony. 

Whence  had  the  disciples  this  power?  By  whom, 
and  why,  were  the  fishermen  of  Galilee  so  signalized 
above  all  the  dwellers  upon  earth  ?  Two  answers, 
and  but  two,  differing  in  form,  but  nearly  identical 
in  substance,  were  given  by  ancient  unbelievers. 
'  The  one  by  infidel  Jews ;  the  other  by  infidel  Greeks 
and  Romans.  The  former,  amazed  at  the  wonders 
performed  by  these  men  who  act  professedly  under 
the  commission,  and  speak  only  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
affirm,  concerning  him  and  them,  that  they  are 
leagued  with  devils,  and  upheld  and  assisted  by 
Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils. 

The  latter,  no  less  amazed  at  seeing  men,  despica- 
ble in  their  eyes  on  account  of  their  country  no  less 
than  their  occupation,  exercising  powers  confessedly 
supernatural,  and  speaking  with  power  to  the  insane, 
to  the  palsied,  to  the  living  and  the  dead,  affirm  that 
they  are  not  what  they  seem  to  be,  artless  and  un- 
lettered, but  subtle  and  skilled  magicians,  instructed 
in  charms  and  incantations,  able  to  conjure  up  de- 


88  THE   RESURRECTION. 

parted  spirits,  and  employ  the  agency  of  invisible 
powers.  They  were  arts,  they  affirmed,  learned  during 
Christ's  exile  in  Egypt,  and  communicated  to  them 
for  the  purpose  of  upholding  and  extending  His  in- 
fluence. 

This  is  Porphyry's  explanation.  A  similar  one  is 
given  by  Celsus,  whom  Julian  follows.  Unable  to 
deny  the  miracles  of  the  Apostles,  and  pressed  with 
the  difficulty  thus  presented,  they  always  return  the 
same  answer  :  These  "miracles  are  wrought  by  magic  / 
the  Apostles  were  magicians  /  Jesus  Christ  was  a 
magician. 

Miracles  are  a  divine  language.  To  heal  the  sick,  to 
cleanse  the  leper,  to  raise  the  dead ;  this  is  not  the 
work  of  demons  ;  even  if  they  had  power  over  nature, 
it  is  not  by  acts  of  beneficence  that  they  would 
manifest  it. 

Let  us  leave  these  dreams  of  ancient  infidel  insan- 
ity. They  come  themselves  from  the  world  of  dark- 
ness, from  the  demon-worshipping  and  demon-haunt- 
ed ages.  Long  since  have  they  ceased  to  have  any 
weight ;  they  are  only  mentioned  as  evidence  that 
the  anti-Christian  malignity  remains  unchanged,  how- 
ever different  the  forms  of  ancient  and  modern  at- 
tack. It  is  not  necessary  to  inquire  of  the  sibyl,  to 
consult  the  oracles  of  Delphos,  to  ascertain  whence 
the  disciples  had  this  power.  Their  commission  tells 
us  whence  it  came :  "  Afterwards  he  appeared  unto 
the  eleven,  as  they  sat  at  meat,  and  upbraided  them 
with  their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart,  because 
they  believed  not  them  who  had  seen  him  after  he 
had  risen.  And  he  said,  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  lie  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that 


THE    SPREAD    OF   CHRISTIANITY.  89 

believe th  not  shall  be  damned.  And  these  signs  shall 
folio  at  them  that  believe :  In  my  name  shall  they 
cast  out  devils  ;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues  ; 
they  shall  take  up  serpents;  and  if  they  drink  any 
deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt  them ;  they  shall  lay 
their  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover.'" 

In  conformity  to  this  commission  they  went  forth, 
and  these  signs  did  follow  them.  Yes,  even  their  en- 
emies being  judges,  these  signs  followed  them. 

The  Power  of  Miracles  wrought  under  the  com- 
mission and  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  a  second 
fact  confirming  and  establishing  the  previous  fact, 
His  resurrection.     There  is  yet  another. 

The  Spread  of  Christianity,  by  the  same  agents, 
and  under  the  same  commission. 

From  the  effects  produced  by  the  ministry  of  the 
Apostles  on  the  bodies,  turn  your  attention  to  those 
that  were  wrought  in  the  souls  of  men.  During  the 
comparatively  short  period  of  their  earthly  labors 
(and  let  it  be  remembered  that  it  was  not  till  the  first 
half  of  life  was  past,  that  they  were  called  from  their 
private  and  humble  occupations),  Christianity  was 
spread  from  India  to  Ethiopia,  from  Seythia  to  Brit- 
ain. How  did  they  force  their  way  so  far?  how  did 
they  achieve  so  much  ?  It  was  by  preaching  Christ ;  \ 
Christ  crucified, — Christ  risen  from  the  dead.  The  } 
cross  was  their  standard;  the  resurrection  was  their 
argument.  Other  than  these  they  had  no  weapon  ; 
this  was  all  their  armor ;  as  we  have  said,  neither 
sword,  nor  staff,  nor  scrip  were  theirs.  But  Heaven 
was  on  their  side.  Else  why  this  triumph  ?  Surely 
not  from  earth  were  their  succors  drawn. 

Compare  them  in  this  respect  with  the  greatest 
names  of  antiquity,  with  Pythagoras,  Plato,  Socrates, 


00  THE     RESURRECTION. 

Zeno,  with  Epictetiis,  Seneca,  and  the  boasted  Anto- 
nines.  Learning  and  eloquence  were  theirs.  They, 
too,  claimed  to  be  teachers  of  truth,  and  undertook  to 
enlighten  and  reform  the  world.  They  published 
systems  ;  they  were  the  founders  of  schools  ;  but  what 
did  the}'  effect,  though  using  all  the  arts  of  persua- 
sion, all  the  powers  of  the  most  cultivated  language, 
all  the  subtleties  of  the  keenest  logic  ?  Not  one 
kingdom,  not  one  province,  not  one  town, — no,  nor 
even  a  village  ever  embraced  their  dogmas,  or  became 
subject  to  their  laws. 

A  few  men  of  literature  and  of  leisure  read  as  a 
pastime  the  speculations  of  these  admirable  philoso- 
phers, but  the  common  people  knew  not,  nor  even 
yet  do  they  know,  that  either  Socrates  or  Plato  ever 
lived. 

How  different  has  it  been  with  Christ's  apostles ! 
Their  number  and  their  names,  their  heroic  lives, 
their  spiritual  conquests,  their  gospels  and  their  epis- 
tles, are  familiar  to  all.  Even  after  eighteen  hundred 
years  we  may  say  it  is  their  mind,  their  thinking,  that 
forms  the  mind  of  the  age. 

The  Fishermen  of  Galilee  must  have  proceeded  on 
sublimer  principles,  and  been  upheld  by  a  higher 
power  than  the  philosophers  of  Athens.  Parting 
from  the  sepulchre  of  their  Master,  to  promulgate 
His  law  and  attest  his  resurrection,  a  mysterious  effi- 
ciency accompanies  them.  Neither  the  singular  facts 
they  allege,  nor  the  unearthly  doctrines  they  teach, 
nor  the  unworldly  restraints  they  impose,  weaken 
their  influence  or  obstruct  their  progress.  Every- 
where, when  they  speak,  reason  bows  to  faith,  and 
passion  to  reason.  It  is  not  villages,  it  is  not  towns, 
but  States   and  Empires  that  are   captivated,   and 


THE    BPEEAD    OF   CHRISTIANITY.  91 

borne  away  as  the  trophies  of  their  arms.  Farther, 
and  yet  farther,  they  advance  into  the  region  of  error 
and  delusion,  and  victory  attends  them.  Opinions 
change  ;  habits  and  manners  change  ;  even  the  very 
monuments  of  superstition  melt  away  before  the  light 
and  heat  that  accompany  them,  like  the  snow-built  fab- 
rics of  children  before  the  beams  of  the  meridian  sun. 

And  yet,  not  a  single  outward  circumstance  favored 
their  success.  They  were  poor,  illiterate,  ignoble. 
JSo  adventitious  trappings  of  fortune  were  flung 
around  them,  nor  in  the  eye  of  those  carnal  men  to 
whom  they  were  addressed  had  the  doctrine  they 
taught  anything  to  recommend  them.  On  the  con 
trary,  their  preaching  crossed  all  the  prejudices  of  the 
Jews,  all  the  propensities  of  the  Gentiles  ;  from  both 
it  demanded  sacrifices  ;  on  both  it  imposed  restraints. 
This  is  not  exaggeration.  It  said  to  the  miser,  be 
charitable  ;  to  the  drunkard,  be  temperate  ;  to  the 
ambitious,  be  humble  ;  to  the  debauchee,  be  chaste  ; 
and  to  the  idolater,  renounce  thine  idols,  and  render 
a  spiritual  homage  to  that  God  who  is  a  spirit.  It 
made  no  compromise  with  passion ;  it  conceded 
nothing  to  frailty.  On  the  contrary,  it  insisted  that 
self  must  be  denied,  the  world  abjured,  the  flesh 
crucified,  tribulation  suffered,  and  death  endured  for 
Christ's  and  for  righteousness'  sake. 

These  were  the  only  terms  of  discipleship  that  the 
Apostles  were  allowed  to  offer,  or  that  they  did  offer 
to  bigoted  and  self-righteous  Jews,  to  profane  and 
licentious  pagans. 

And  yet,  no  sooner  did  they  begin  to  offer  such 
terms  to  such  men,  than  a  sudden  commotion  took 
place.  It  was  as  if  the  archangel's  trumjjet  had 
sounded  anions  the  habitations  of  the  dead.     From 


92  THE   EESUEKECnOKT. 

tlieir  long  and  death-like  slumber  thousands  awoke 
to  hear  and  to  obey  the  summons. 

The  splendor  of  their  conquests,  as  the  greatness 
of  their  miracles  had  done  before,  amazed  and  terri- 
fied the  Jewish  priests  ;  for  man)'  of  the  first  trophies 
were  won  at  Jerusalem,  and  from  among  the  seed  of 
Abraham. 

Yes,  even  in  persecuting  Jerusalem,  and  from 
among  those  who  cried  crucify  him!  crucify  7dm / 
numbers,  renouncing  the  tradition  of  the  elders, 
openly  declared  for  Jesus,  and  u  sold  their  possessions, 
and  their  goods,  and  parted  them  to  all  men,  even  as 
every  man  had  need." 

The  Apostles  soon  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  Pal- 
estine. They  penetrated  the  neighboring  provinces  ; 
converts  were  made  in  all  the  cities  of  Greece  ;  the 
resurrection  was  preached  at  Athens,  the  crucifixion 
was  proclaimed  in  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world. 
The  worshippers  of  Jupiter,  of  Bacchus,  of  Mercury, 
and  of  Mars  listened  to  them  as  the  disciples  of 
Moses  before  had  done.  The  same  wondrous  change 
took  place,  the  same  new  appearance  of  a  virtue  here- 
tofore almost  unknown  to  the  world.  In  token  of 
their  love  and  sincerity,  men  presented  their  goods  to 
feed  the  poor,  and  their  bodies  to  be  burned. 

"  The  law  had  gone  forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word 
of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem."  How  short  the  period 
before  the  world  felt  everywhere  the  heaving  of  the 
new  [sower.  The  pagan  priesthood,  no  less  than  the 
Jewish,  became  amazed  and  terrified.  The  oracles 
were  consulted,  the  idols  invoked.  The  Roman  au- 
thorities were  alarmed,  and  the  whole  empire,  rising 
in  its  strength,  attempted  to  obstruct  the  progress 
and  stop  the  march  of  the  new  religion. 


THE    SFREAD    OF    CHRISTIANITY.  93 

c  But  it  attempted  this  in  vain.  In  such  a  warfare, 
not  all  the  decrees  the  Caesars  published,  not  all  the 
armies  the  Ciesars  commanded,  were  competent  for 
the  defence  of  a  single  province.  Many  witnesses  for 
the  truth  were  indeed  slain.  But  by  an  invisible 
agency  their  places  were  supplied,  and  supplied 
from  the  ranks  of  their  adversaries.  Not  a  confessor 
was  imprisoned,  not  a  martyr  was  burned,  but  it  pro- 
duced some  fresh  accession  to  the  Church. 

Thus  triumph  followed  triumph  till  not  a  province, 
hardly  a  town  or  village  were  left  to  the  pagan  wor- 
shippers. Had  Julian  lived  in  an  after  age,  he  might 
indeed,  in  a  higher  sense,  and  personating  the  Divin- 
ities he  worshipped,  have  exclaimed,  "vieisti  O  Gali- 
IcBe."  For  the  prince,  the  people,  the  senate,  the  army 
were  conquered.  The  banner  of  the  cross  waved  on 
the  standard  of  the  legions  which  once  fought  against 
it ;  it  was  impressed  on  the  tapestry  that  adorned  the 
walls  of  the  forum  ;  it  was  engraved  on  the  imperial 
armor  that  hung  suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the 
capitol.  The  very  machinery  of  idolatry  vanished, 
and  pagan  Home  was  stricken  from  the  map  of  the 
world.  Not  pagan  Rome  only.  The  gods  of  the 
East  were  deserted  by  their  worshippers  ;  and  neither 
Dao-on  nor  Moloch  were  able  to  retain  their  thrones. 

Thus  extensive  and  continuous  were  the  effects  of 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  Even  remote  nations  were 
shaken  as  if  by  a  mighty  rushing  wind.  Everywhere 
alike,  images  tottered,  shrines  were  overturned,  altars 
were  razed,  and  temples  demolished,  or  reconsecrated 
by  the  introduction  of  a  holier  worship. 

Who  can  deny  these  things?  or  who  can  account 
for  them,  unless  God  was  with  the  Apostles?  On 
what  hidden  principle  of  human  action  can  these 


94:  THE    KESUEKECTION. 

phenomena  be  explained  ?  Whence  came  this  sudden 
reanimation,  this  life  of  faith  ?  By  what  unknown 
influence  was  the  drunkard  made  temperate,  the 
:  miser  charitable,  the  debauchee  chaste,  the  proud 
humble,  and  the  idolater  an  advocate  for  the  worship 
of  the  true  God  ?  By  what  secret  powerful  charm 
were  so  many  and  such  abominable  sinners,  suddenly 
withdrawn  from  their  indulgences  and  defilements, 
induced  to  practise  all  the  self-denials  and  submit  to 
all  the  restraints  of  a  religious  life  \  By  what  secret 
and  powerful  charm  were  so  many  and  such  relent- 
less enemies  made  to  weep  and  supplicate  for  mercy 
at  the  feet  of  that  same  Jesus  of  Nazareth  whom  they 
before  had  persecuted  ? 

Had  Christ  never  risen,  would  it  have  been  so? 
"Would  these  signs  have  followed,  or  these  triumphs 
attended  his  disciples  %  Had  He  remained  a  tenant 
of  the  sepulchre,  would  their  voice  have  had  such  a 
transforming,  such  a  life-communicating  influence  ? 
The  inference  is  irresistible.  The  world's  life  came 
from  that  sepulchre,  and  no  one  but  a  risen  Saviour 
could  have  conducted  such  a  stupendous  undertaking 
to  such  a  sublime  and  glorious  result.  "  This  is  the 
Lord's  doings,  and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes." 

Judge  of  what  would  have  been,  from  what  was. 
For  three  successive  days  Jesus  Christ  was  a  tenant 
of  the  sepulchre,  and  Zion  sat  in  mourning.  Yes  ; 
the  faith  and  the  fortitude  of  the  Church  lay  buried 
with  the  body  of  its  Founder.  "Without  a  resurrection 
of  the  one,  there  never  could  have  been  a  resurrection 
of  the  other.  But  the  one  has  arisen ;  a  demonstra- 
tion that  the  other  has  arisen  also. 


VI. 

CHRIST    EISEN    IN    THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath 
raised  him  from  the  dead. — Acts  xvii.  31. 

Christ  said  he  would  found  his  empire  in  his 
death :  "And  I,  if  I  he  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me"  And  he  did  so  found  it. 
The  resurrection  was  at  once  the  evidence  and  the 
era  of  its  commencement.  Ever  since  that  first  and 
splendid  triumph,  though  previously  poor,  houseless, 
and  depressed,  his  march  to  empire  has  been  constant 
and  progressive.  Eighteen  centuries  have  elapsed, 
but  the  impulse  given  to  the  infant  church  on  that 
eventful  morning  when  the  Son  of  Man  came  forth 
from  the  sepulchre,  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  has 
not  yet  spent  its  force.  Now,  as  formerly,  Zion  is 
enlarging  her  borders  and  multiplying  her  converts. 
The  story  of  His  life,  of  His  death  and  resurrection, 
is  read  in  languages  more  numerous  than  those  that 
were  spoken  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles. 

It  is  not  Jews,  Greeks,  Arabians,  and  the  dwellers 
in  Cappadocia,  Pontus,  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia ;  it  is 
not  the  nations  that  stretch  from  Turkey  to  Caledo- 
nia, from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Polar  circle,  from 
Labrador  to  Mexico,  and  from  Mexico  to  Cape  Horn ; 


96  THE   RESURRECTION. 

it  is  not  these  nations  only  that  have  heard  respective- 
ly, in  their  ovai  tongues,  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 
Already  has  the  apostolic  testimony,  together  with 
that  finished  system  of  duties  and  doctrines  with 
which  it  is  inseparably  connected,  been  transferred 
into  many  languages  of  distant  Asia. 

In  addition  to  all  the  dialects  of  Christendom,  the 
Bible  has  been  rendered  into  Arabic,  Syriac,  Persian, 
Tamul,  Malabar,  Ilindostanee,  Sanscrit,  Mahratta, 
Orissa,  Bengalee,  and,  to  add  no  more,  into  the  Chi- 
nese language,  spoken  in  so  many  provinces  and  by 
so  many  millions.* 

Though  changed  in  form,  that  linguistic  power  first 
given  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  is  continuing  its  inarch 
through  the  world.  The  "  tongues  of  fire  "  are  still 
spreading  their  path  of  light.  It  is  no  less  the  gift 
of  God,  as  now  manifested  in  the  ways  of  learned 
study,  than  in  its  primitive  miraculous  impulse.  It  is 
from  the  same  heavenly  source  ;  the  Spirit  still  gives 
utterance  in  the  zeal  that  originated  and  sustains 
such  a  work  of  Christian  philanthropy.  Yes,  the 
grand  design  is  formed,  it  is  matured  ;  it  is  hastening 
to  execution ;  the  preparations  are  accumulating ; 
the  translator's  pen  is  employed  ;  the  press  has  been 
engaged,  and,  I  had  almost  said,  the  type  are  in  the 
foundry,  for  transferring  that  sacred  saving  book,  the 
Bible,  into  all  the  various  forms  of  speech,  and  among 
all  the  posterity  of  Adam.  What  other  volume  has 
been  thus  honored,  or  has  the  remotest  prospect  of 

*  This  was  uttered  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  It  was  at  the 
time  of  the  origin  of  Bible  societies,  and  at  the  beginning  of  those 
great  missionary  efforts  which  are  now  promising  such  glorious 
fruit.  A  great  many  more  languages  might  now  be  added  to  the 
list.— Ed. 


CHRIST    RISEN   IN    THE   HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.       97 

ever  being  so  ?  Whence  this  distinctive  glory  that 
after  so  many  ages  rests  npon,  and  consecrates  its 
pages,  if  it  contains  not  what  it  professes  to  contain  ? 
Why  does  this  printed  record,  like  the  living  voice  of 
those  who  penned  it,  possess  such  a  controlling  and 
resistless  influence  ?  Why  do  a  thousand  tributary 
streams  spontaneously  flow  into  the  treasury  of  the 
sanctuary,  for  the  purpose  of  multiplying  and  dis- 
tributing the  copies  of  this  heaven-befriended  work  ? 
Why  vanish  in  succession  all  impediments  to  its  dis- 
tribution? Why  sink  the  mountains,  why  rise  the 
valleys  before  it,  offering  free  course  to  it,  and  it 
alone,  of  all  the  books  on  the  earth,  to  the  most  dis- 
tant, the  most  rude,  and  the  most  barbarous  nations  ? 

Whether  God  be  on  the  side  of  Christianity  or  not,  it 
is  manifest  that  it  is  destined  to  become,  and  that  it  is 
becoming,  the  exclusive  and  the  universal  faith.  Pro- 
phecy apart,  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  becoming,  and 
that  it  will  become  the  universal  faith.  This  the  phi- 
losopher must  acknowledge ;  to  this  the  statesman  can- 
not shut  his  eyes ;  Christianity  must  conquer ;  for  it 
possesses  within  itself  a  vital  principle — a  redeeming, 
a  life-communicating  influence.  Its  very  contexture 
is  for  immortality.  Age  does  not  enfeeble  it ;  its  vig- 
or increases  with  its  endurance  ;  its  momentum  is  in- 
herent, and  ever  becomes  greater  as  it  advances. 

JSTo  force  obstructs  its  progress,  and  "  no  counsel 
formed  against  it  prospers."  Other  religions,  like 
all  the  fabrics  which  mortal  man  has  reared  up,  rise, 
decline,  disappear.  This  only,  though  it  decline,  re- 
vives again.  Other  religions  depend  on  circumstances, 
and  are  supported  by  extraneous  causes.  This  only 
upholds  itself,  and,  disclaiming  sublunary  aid,  derives 
its  succor  from  above. 


9S  THE   RESURRECTION. 

The  Prophet  of  Arabia  made  no  converts  beyond 
the  limits  where  his  sabre  reached.  At  Medina  his  se- 
pulchre yet  stands.  Many  a  pilgrim  visits  it,  and  re- 
turns as  he  went,  a  Mussulman.  But  he  brings  from 
thence  no  balm  to  heal  the  wounded  bosom,  no  hys- 
sop to  purify  the  sin-defiled  conscience.  No  celestial 
lire  touches  his  lips,  or  warms  his  heart ;  nor  is  any 
light  or  heat  imparted  by  him  to  illumine  and  warm 
and  soften  other  hearts. 

Mohammedanism  derived  all  its  influence  from  the 
sword.  All  its  weapons  are  carnal.  It  makes  no  in- 
visible conquests  ;  it  possesses  no  regenerating  influ- 
ence ;  it  is  accompanied  by  no  baptism  of  the  spirit ; 
now,  as  formerly,  it  is  the  sabre,  not  the  Koran,  that 
makes  converts.  That  book  of  wonders  is  indeed  read 
by  multitudes.  But  with  what  effect  ?  what  have  been 
its  triumphs  ?  How  many  souls  has  it  reclaimed  from 
sin  and  restored  to  righteousness  ?  In  regard  to  any 
spiritual  renovation  it  is,  and  ever  has  been,  as  inane 
and  powerless  as  the  Arabian  tales. 

Not  so  the  Scriptures — For  the  word  of  God  man- 
ifests itself  to  he  quick  and  powerful,  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword,  piercing  to  the  dividing  asun- 
der of  the  soxd  and  spirit,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  To  say  nothing  of 
those  things  of  which  we  have  heard,  and  which  our 
fathers  have  told  us,  let  us  advert  to  what  we  ourselves 
have  seen.  "Who  of  you  are  ignorant  of  the  late 
and  mighty  effort  which  has  been  made  to  counteract 
the  spirit  and  subvert  the  faith  ?  To  the  age  of  su- 
perstition, which  was  terminated  by  the  Reformation, 
ensued  the  age  of  infidelity.  Long  had  a  spirit  of  skep- 
ticism been  maturing  its  plan  and  infusing  its  poison. 
Hitherto,  however,  its  advances  had  been  cautious,  cov- 


CHRIST    RISEN   IN   THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.       99 

ered,  though  constant  and  systematic.  Already  re- 
sources had  been  provided  ;  already  learning,  and  tal- 
ent and  experience  had  been  enlisted,  and  in  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  mask  was  lifted. 
I>y  one  simultaneous  movement  a  multitude  display- 
ed themselves,  emboldened  by  their  numbers  and  ex- 
ulting in  their  strength.  Never,  in  the  opinion  of 
carnal,  calculating  men,  was  success  more  probable; 
never  was  it  more  confidently  expected.  The  world 
wondered  at  the  change  which  was  taking  place ;  the 
,  friends  of  Zion  stood  appalled. — It  seemed  as  if  the 
I  stone  was  about  to  be  replaced  upon  the  sepulchre, 
/  and  that  tie  dissolved  that  had  bound,  so  long,  so  many 
nations  to  allegiance.  Those  whom  grace  prevented 
not,  imagined  that  it  was  so.  The  enemies  of  the 
Cross  congratulated  each  other  on  their  anticipated  tri- 
umph— their  only  triumph.  Then,  in  that  hour  of  de- 
lirious exultation,  it  was  boastfully  announced,  and  be- 
lieved as  confidently  as  if  the  annunciation  had  been 
oracular :  "  thai  twenty  yea?'s  would  not  elapse  before 
\every  Christian  church  would  he  deserted,  and  the 
very  p>t'icsthood  itself  le  dissolved.  "  Appearances 
favored  the  fulfilment  of  this  malediction,  and  the 
hearts  of  the  faithful  might  have  failed,  had  they  not 
held  in  their  possession  an  older  and  a  diviner  oracle : 
No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper, 
and  every  tongue  tJiat  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judg- 
ment thou  shalt  condemn. 

Thus  spake  the  oracle,  and  thus  the  event  has  been. 
Those  twenty  portentous  years,  which  were  to  termi- 
nate the  influence  of  Messiah  and  wind  up  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation,  have  elapsed  ;  and  yet  I  preach 
Christ  the  risen  Saviour ;  and  yon  hear  Christ  the  ris- 
en Saviour  preached. 
5* 


100  THE   RESURRECTION. 

On  the  east  and  on  the  west,  on  the  north  and  on 
the  south,  millions  are  engaged  in  the  same  grace-ex- 
alting service. 

During  these  portentous  years — this  tempest  of  the 
passions — i»he  sea  has  indeed  roared,  and  the  waves 
thereof  have  been  lifted  up,  but  Mount  Zion  has  not 
been  removed.  Her  temple,  her  altar,  her  priesthood, 
and  her  worship  remain.  More  than  this ;  during 
these  portentous  years,  though  compassed  by  so  many 
enemies,  and  under  the  pressure  of  so  many  adverse 
circumstances,  she  has  risen  in  her  glory  and  in  her 
strength  :  "  She  looketh  forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as 
the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners."  But  that  formidable  host  of  assailants 
who  so  lately  menaced  her  existence,  where  are  they  ? 
Ah  me !  smitten  and  dispersed  by  an  invisible  hand. 
To  them  may  be  applied  the  words  of  the  Psalmist :  "  I 
have  seen  the  wicked  in  great  power,  and  spreading 
himself  like  a  green  bay  tree  ;  but  he  vanished,  and  lo, 
he  is  not;  yea,  I  sought  him,  but  he  could  not  be 
found." 

Balaam  is  not  the  only  adversary  who  has  found  it 
impossible  to  curse  those  whom  God  had  not  cursed. 
All  the  wit  and  raillery,  all  the  sophistry  and  invective 
of  the  moderns,  like  the  swords  and  fagots  of  the 
ancients,  have  produced  no  other  effect  than  to  estab- 
lish and  extend  that  faith  they  were  employed  to  ex- 
terminate. During  this  mighty  conflict  the  Church 
has  stood,  and  yet  stands,  and  stands  firm  ;  her  founda- 
tion, the  apostles  and  prophets  ;  Jesus  Christ,  the 
resurrection  and  the  life,  being  the  chief  corner-stone. 

The  champions  of  infidelity  have  been  met  in  every 
path,  as  Paul  was  met  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  and 
turned  from  their  purpose  as  he  was  turned  from  his. 


CUEIST    RISEN    IN    THE    HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH.    101 

Our  religious  assemblies,  our  solemn  feasts,  nay,  the 
very  ministry  is  crowded  with  reclaimed  infidels;  men 
who,  having  renounced  their  impieties  and  withdrawn 
from  their  associates,  have  fled  to  Christ  for  refuge 
from  the  wrath  to  come  ;  men  who  now  wear  His 
livery,  who  possess  his  faith,  and  cease  not  to  acknow- 
ledge that  they  have  been  conquered  by  Him  whom 
they  once  vainly  imagined  they  were  about  to  con- 
quer. Nor  have  reclaimed  infidels  been  the  only 
triumphs.*  "We  live  in  a  season  of  great  religious 
power.  In  families  where  no  private  devotions  were 
offered  up,  in  societies  where  no  public  worship  was 
maintained,  in  villages  where  no  churches  were 
erected,  where  no  religious  tracts  were  circulated,  and 
where  even  the  missionary's  voice  had  not  been  heard, 
the  Word  and  the  Spirit  have  exerted  their  influence. 
Yes,  even  in  such  unpropitious  situations,  touched  by 
an  impulse  from  heaven,  the  penitent  sinner  has  wept 
and  prayed ;  that  impulse  has  passed  from  heart  to 
heart,  from  family  to  family,  till  the  very  face  of 
society  has  changed,  and  a  marked  and  visible  refor- 
mation taken  place.     The  drunkard  has  relinquished 

*  One  of  the  effects  of  Dr.  Nott's  early  ministry  in  Albany  was 
said  to  be  the  conversion  from  infidelity  of  some  who  stood  high 
in  the  political  world.  The  allusion  is  probably  to  such ;  the 
importance  of  the  event,  at  the  moment,  giving  it  a  magnified 
aspect.  There  follow  allusions  to  revival  scenes  in  which  Dr.  Nott 
was  earnestly  engaged, — some  of  them  among  the  students  of  the 
college.  Like  other  preachers,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  accommodat- 
ing previous  discourses  to  later  occasions,  with  passages  inter- 
polated to  suit  some  marked  event.  There  are  some  things  here 
which  seem  to  have  come  in  in  that  manner.  The  first  thought 
was  to  leave  them  out.  It  was  supposed,  however,  that,  with 
this  explanation,  their  being  permitted  to  remain  might  add  to 
their  interest  with  those  who  knew  the  speaker  and  may  have 
been  familiar  with  the  occasions  referred  to.— Ed. 


102  THE   EESUEEECTIOX. 

liis  cups ;  the  miser  lias  abjured  his  Mammon ;  the 
usurer  has  restored  his  unlawful  gain ;  the  thief  has 
disclosed  his  concealed  goods ;  and  the  debauchee  has 
forsaken  the  company  of  his  Delilah. 

You  know  the  inveteracy  of  infidel  principles ; 
you  know  the  obstinacy  of  guilty  habits — an  obstinacy 
so  unconquerable  by  ordinary  means,  as  to  justify 
those  strong  expressions  of  the  Prophet:  "As  soon 
may  ^te  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard 
his  spots,  as  those  accustomed  to  evil  learn  to  do 
weU.n  And  yet  those  accustomed  to  do  evil  have 
learned  to  do  well.  By  some  invisible  influence,  a 
change  has  been  effected  in  their  prevailing  tempers, 
in  their  moral  habits,  in  their  external  conduct,  as 
striking,  as  inexplicable,  and  as  evidently  supernatu- 
ral, as  was  the  effect  produced  in  the  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  blind  man  whose  eyes  Jesus  opened,  or  of 
the  lame  man  who  at  the  command  of  Peter  and 
John  arose,  and  leaped,  and  walked.  Whatever  may 
be  said  of  the  force  of  truth  and  the  influence  of  the 
spirit  in  former  times,  the  facts  now  appealed  to  are 
not  imaginary.  Change  of  inveterate  opinion,  of 
deeply-rooted  prejudice,  "  change  of  heart "  and 
reformation  of  life,  change  in  the  outward  and  inner 
being,  are  constantly  produced  by  some  agency  that 
accompanies  everywhere  this  mysterious  book,  the 
Bible,  and  the  preaching  it  inspires.  Such  changes 
are  as  striking  as  they  are  numerous.  Let  the  sneer- 
ing infidel,  let  the  self-righteous  formalist  account  for 
it  as  he  may  ;  these  are  miracles  that  we  have  seen — 
spiritual  miracles,  carrying  with  them  their  divine 
evidence,  no  less  convincing  than  any  supernatural 
change  in  nature.  It  is  admitted  that  customs  and 
maimers  assume  varying  forms  ;  it  is  admitted  that 


CHRIST   RISEN    IN   THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    CHURCH.    103 

one  vice  may  supplant  another,  that  example,  or  per- 
suasion, or  authority  may  give  a  new  direction  to 
human  action,  and  open  new  channels  for  the  pas- 
sions ;  but  that  any  of  these  causes  ever  changed  the 
predominant  temper  of  man,  and  implanted  in  his 
heart  new  principles  of  moral  action,  may  confidently 
be  denied.  Under  every  other  culture,  and  notwith- 
standing all  the  alleged  amiablenesses  of  his  nature, 
man  remains  forever  what  he  forever  has  been,  a 
sinner,— and  everywhere  alike  he  may  be  thus  char- 
acterized :  God  is  neither  predominant  in  his  affec- 
tions nor  in  his  thoughts. 

Ko  other  tutelage  effects,  or  even  claims  the  power 
of  effecting,  what  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit  effects, — 
conversion.  By  conversion  I  mean  not  any  agita- 
tions of  body  or  any  perturbations  of  mind.  These 
may  be  incidents  of  conversion,  but  neither  sighs  nor 
tears,  no  matter  how  distinctly  uttered  or  profusely 
shed,  form  any  part  of  that  renovation  of  heart,  or 
reformation  of  life,  by  which  a  sinner  becomes,  in 
the  emphatic  language  of  Scripture,  a  new  creature  / 
even  as  Paul,  once  so  vindictive,  and  Mary,  once  so 
dissolute,  became  new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus. 

I  know  not  what  other  men  think  of  conversions 
such  as  these  ;  conversions  which  no  human  power 
can  either  produce  or  hinder  ;  conversions  which  at 
first  accompanied  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and 
that  only,  and  which  still  accompany  it  whenever  it 
pleases  God,  whose  power  remains  the  same,  to  stretch 
forth  his  arm  and  replenish  by  his  grace  the  vessels 
predestinated  to  eternal  glory.  I  know  not  what 
other  men  think  of  these  things,  but  for  myself  I  be- 
lieve as  firmly,  and  for  the  same  reason,  that  an  in- 
visible agent  operates  on  the  souls  of  men,  as  I  be- 


104  THE   RESURRECTION. 

lieve  the  wind  passes  through,  the  forest,  when  I  hear 
the  rustling  of  its  leaves  and  see  its  branches  shaken. 

This  is  sound  philosophy  as  -well  as  sound  theology. 
Every  other  theory  leaves  one  event  (and  certainly 
the  most  sublime  one  which  the  life  of  man  furnishes, 
the  conversion,  of  a  soul  from  sin  to  righteousness) 
unaccounted  for,  or  accounted  for  only  by  the  as- 
signment of  causes  that  exist  not ;  or,  if  they  exist, 
that  are  utterly  inadequate. 

To  this  fact,  the  renovation  of  the  heart  by  His 
spirit,  as  the  abiding  evidence  of  His  resurrection, 
Jesus  Christ  referred  those  infidel  Jews  who  demand- 
ed of  him  a  sign. 

Often  did  they  repeat  the  demand,  but  he  con- 
stantly returned  the  same  answer — always  resting  his 
claim  upon  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonah,  warned  by 
whose  voice,  and  by  it  only,  the  great,  the  populous 
city  of  Nineveh  repented.  What  a  marvellous  result! 
Lot  warned  the  cities  of  the  plain  ;  Noah  warned  the 
antediluvians — long  and  often  did  he  warn  them  ; 
with  as  little  effect,  however,  as  if  he  had  addressed 
himself  to  monuments  and  prophesied  among  the 
tombs.  But  with  all  his  human  weaknesses,  the 
preaching  of  the  prophet  sent  to  the  Ninevites  was, 
in  this  respect,  a  type  of  the  gospel's  power.  Behold, 
a  greater  than  Jonah  is  here  ;  declared  to  be  so  by 
the  same  kind  of  evidence  ;  but  more  abiding  and 
more  abundant,  by  as  much  as  the  sign  of  perpetual 
conversion,  and  the  conversion  not  of  a  town  or  a 
province,  but  of  a  kingdom,  a  world,  is  greater  than 
the  sign  of  conversion  at  a  particular  time,  and  of  a 
single  city.  Jonah  spake,  and  Nineveh  repented. 
So  Christ  still  speaks  to  men,  and  everywhere  we 
hear  of  men  repenting  and  turning  unto  God. 


CIIKIST   EISEN    IN    THE   HISTOEY    OF   THE   CHUECH.    105 

Tell  me  not  that  the  success  of  which  we  speak  has 
been  fortuitous;  that  in  all  this  vast,  this  continuous, 
this  progressive  enlargement  of  the  Church,  no  provi- 
dence is  seen,  no  present  God  is  manifested.  Let  us 
review  the  plan,  and  refresh  our  minds  by  glancing  a 
second  time  at  its  execution. 

The  son  of  an  obscure  carpenter  appears  in  Judea 
and  announces  the  novel,  and,  according  to  human 
calculation,  the  absurd  project  of  founding  by  Ms  own 
death,  and  on  his  own  resurrection,  a  mighty  and  an 
abiding  empire.      Attracted  by  his  manner  and  his 
miracles,  while  yet  living;,  multitudes  flocked  around 
him.      They  offer  to  crown  him  king,  and  to  place  in 
his  hand  the  sceptre.     This  offer  he  rejects;  whilst  he 
reveals  a  method  at  variance  with  every  human  pas- 
sion, pursuit,  and  prejudice.      lie  talks  to  proud  men 
of  humility,  to  ambitious  men  of  self-denial,  to  self- 
righteous  men  of  repentance,  and  to   carnal  selfish 
men  of  spiritual  and  disinterested  enjoyments.     lie 
formally  announces  his  death,  his  burial,  adding  at 
the  same  time   that  on  the  third   day  he  shall  rise 
again,  and  by  such  resurrection  establish  his  kingdom 
— a  kingdom  new  in  its  nature,  holy  in  its  laws,  uni- 
versal iu  its  extent,  and  eternal  in  its  duration.      For 
the  administration  of  this  future  kingdom,  he  selects 
and  appoints  the  officers.     Twelve  illiterate  men,  col- 
lected from  the  lowest  grades  of  life,  and  utterly  un- 
qualified to  fill  a  higher  station,  are  called — are  or- 
dained to  execute  a  vaster  enterprise,  and  perform 
more  complicated  and  more  arduous  duties  than  ever 
before  fell  to  the  lot  of  mortal. 

This  done,  the  predicted  tragedy  is  consummated, 
lie  is  arrested  and  condemned.  lie  dies.  By  wicked 
hands  is  he  crucified  and  slain.     The  main  purpose 


106  THE   RESURRECTION. 

here  is  to  set  forth  the  spiritual  effects  of  Christ's  res- 
urrection, as  they  have  been  and  still  are  manifested 
in  the  world.  As  an  introduction,  however,  to  this, 
or  to  show  more  vividly  the  aspect  I  would  now  pre- 
sent, there  may  be  pardoned  a  brief  recapitulation  of 
physical  and  historical  facts,  more  minutely  dwelt 
upon  in  previous  discourses. 

History  records  that  some  strange  phenomena  ren- 
dered memorable  the  hour  of  the  crucifixion, — that 
the  sun  was  darkened,  that  the  mountains  quaked, 
and  that  the  veil  of  the  Temple  was  rent  asunder. 
But  I  pass  these  things.  Enemies,  jealous  of  his 
power,  take  possession  of  his  body,  and  seal  and 
guard  his  sepulchre.  Thus  far.  A  pause  ensued. 
Twice  the  sun  performed  its  revolution,  and  all  re- 
mained tranquil.  Nature  gave  no  forebodings  of 
convulsion ;  no  symptom  of  release  appeared.  His 
corse  was  as  motionless,  and  his  sepulchre  as  silent 
and  as  cheerless  as  other  sepulchres.  Around  it  stood 
the  watchmen  clad  in  armor. 

The  third  day  dawned  at  length  on  the  world,  when 
it  is  reported  that  an  angel  descended,  and  that  an 
earthquake  was  felt.  But  I  insist  not  now  on  these 
things. 

Be  the  agent  whom  it  may,  this  is  certain;  that 
the  guards  were  dispersed,  that  the  stone  was  rolled 
back,  and  the  body  rescued.  A  marvellous  incident; 
and  which  still  remains  without  a  parallel  on  the  page 
of  sepulchral  history.  But  not  to  the  cemetery  were 
the  marvellous  incidents  of  that  eventful  day  con- 
fined. The  influence  that  reached  the  sepulchre 
leached  beyond  it.  Simultaneous  with  the  Master's 
release  was  the  disciples'  reappearance.  But  they 
were  no  looser  what  they  heretofore  had  been — ob- 


CHKIST   KISEN    IN   THE   IIISTOKY    OF    THE    CHUKCII.    107 

scure  men,  illiterate  men,  impotent  men.  A  ehange, 
sudden  and  entire,  had  taken  place,  and  they  were 
henceforth  known  only  as  extraordinary  personages, 
endowed  with  wisdom,  gifted  with  the  use  of  tongues, 
gifted  with  the  power  of  miracles. 

The  potentates  of  the  world  combine  against  them. 
They,  on  the  other  hand,  do  not  even  deliberate  about 
the  result  of  such  a  combination,  but  hasten  to  the 
execution  of  their  appointed  office,  and  begin  at  once 
to  draw  the  lines,  to  organize  the  departments,  and 
administer  the  government  of  that  infant  kino-dom, 
which  already  begins  to  rise  and  rest  on  that  broad 
fact,  the  resurrection. 

Their  term  of  action  ended,  successors  imbued  with 
the  same  spirit  rise  up  and  further  prosecute  their 
labors.     Century  after  century  rolls  away ;  still  the 
work  progresses.     As  the  world  grows  older,  the  vast 
design  opens,  and  act  following  act,  the  grand  drama 
still  continues  advancing  to  its  ultimate  result.     At 
the  distance  of  eighteen  hundred  years  from  the  era 
of  the  resurrection,  and  after  the  amazing  progress  it 
has  already  made,  we  see  Christianity  yet  progressive. 
And  seeing  this,  can  it  be  a  question  whether  its 
founder  and  its  finisher  is  a  tenant  of  the  sepulchre  ? ' 
What !    the   tomb   imprison  Him,   the  column  of 
whose  glory,  broad,  and  massive,  and  imperishable, 
stands  founded  on  the  fact  of  his  resurrection  from 
it  ?     Neither  to  earth  nor  hell  does  this  proud  monu- 
ment owe  its  being.      From  the  first,  and  through  all 
the  stages  of  its  progress,  men  and  devils  have  opposed 
it.     If  not  by  God's,  by  whose  right  hand,  then,  has 
it  been  erected  and  upheld  ? 

With  these  facts  before  me,  I  would  as  soon  believe 
that  Atlas  holds  the  earth  upon  his  shoulders,  or  that 


108  THE   KESUKRECTTON. 

/Ceres  pours  the  annual  harvest  from  her  horn  of  plen- 
ty, as  that  Peter  and  James,  together  with  their  un- 
lettered coadjutors,  reared  this  fabric  and  shed  upon 
it  this  radiance  of  divinity.  I  would  as  soon  believe, 
and  it  would  mark  as  vigorous  and  as  sane  a  mind  to 
believe,  that  the  laws  of  nature  were  factitious,  that 
Buns  and  stars  were  made  to  move  and  shine  by  necro- 
mancy, and  that  all  material  changes  were  illusions — 
mere  sleight-of-hand,  played  off  to  impose  upon  man- 
kind by  some  Egyptian  juggler,  as  that  the  laws  of 
grace  were  factitious,  and  that  this  great  moral  sys- 
tem, embracing  so  many  ages,  combining  so  many 
actors,  triumphing  over  so  many  obstacles,  and  reach- 
ing forward  to  such  sublime  results,  was  a  mere 
imposture,  fabricated  some  eighteen  centuries  since 
by  a  few  ignorant,  vulgar  fishermen  of  Galilee  ! 
Yonder  orbs  of  fire  speak  not  more  loudly  God's 
handiwork ;  nor  is  that  firmament  above  marked 
out  with  bolder  lines  of  his  wisdom,  or  set  with 
brighter  constellations  of  grace  and  glory. 

These  two  systems  bear  the  same  impress ;  the 
Book  of  Nature  and  of  Inspiration  are  written  in  the 
same  characters,  they  speak  the  same  language,  they 
reveal  the  same  Godhead,  and  it  is  self-evident  that 
the  same  eternal  wisdom  planned  and  penned  them 
both.  If  the  record  of  the  one  is  true,  so  also  is  the 
record  of  the  other. 

That  ruptured  monument  from  which  the  affrighted 
guards  were  driven  back  imprisons  Jesus  Christ  no 
longer.  lie  has  risen  from  it.  As  sure  as  the  sun 
shines,  as  sure  as  the  stars  twinkle,  he  has  risen ;  in 
triumph  he  has  risen ;  everything  proclaims  it. 

For  if  he  be  not  risen,  whence  now  acquires  the 
Bible  its  energies  ?     Whence  gathers  the  Evangelist 


CHRIST   EISEN    IN   THE   HI8T0EY   OF   THE   CHURCH.    109 

his  fires  %  Let  us  for  a  moment  admit  the  contrary. 
Be  it  so.  The  Apostles  may  have  deceived  us ;  the 
primitive  Christians  may  have  deceived  us  ;  nay,  even 
the  martyrs,  who  in  the  midst  of  fire  and  flames  de- 
livered their  testimony,  may  have  lied  to  us.  Still 
one  thing  is  certain :  the  God  of  providence  is  a  God 
of  truth.  "Whoever  else  may  have  lied  to  us,  His  dis- 
tinctive acts  deceive  us  not.  We  hear  Him  saying  in 
the  administration  of  His  government, — saying  from 
age  to  age :  "  The  Church  is  my  heritage ;  I  have 
planted  and  will  defend  it.  Elsewhere,  ye  profane,  di- 
rect your  rage ;  but  touch  not  my  anointed,  do  my 
people  no  harm ; "  "  no  weapon  formed  against  Zion 
shall  prosper,  and  every  tongue  that  riseth  up  in 
judgment  against  her  I  will  condemn."  "  In  vain  do 
the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain 
thing ;  in  vain  do  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  them- 
selves, and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together  against 
the  Lord  and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  Let  us 
break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  their  cords  from 
us.  I  who  sit  in  the  heavens  do  laugh  ;  I  hold  them 
in  derision."  Vain  alike  are  their  counsels  and  their 
weapons.  I  have  given  to  my  Son  "  the  nations  for 
an  inheritance  ;  and  he  shall  inherit  them."  Though 
the  voice  of  prophecy  were  feebler  than  it  is,  tho 
voice  of  providence  could  not  be  mistaken.  This 
perpetual  triumph  of  the  Church  is  "  the  Lord's  doing, 
and  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes."  "  This  is  the  day 
which  the  Lord  hath  made ;  we  will  rejoice  and  be 
glad  in  it." 

To  carnal  hearts  Christianity  is  as  repugnant,  to  car- 
nal eyes  as  devoid  of  glory,  as  in  the  ages  that  are 
past.  Whence  then  receives  it  power  to  support 
itself  against  so  many  and  such  determined  enemies? 


110  THE   RESURRECTION. 

By  what  unknown  and  heaven-derived  charm  does  it 
purify  the  conscience,  subdue  the  heart,  bind  the  pas- 
sions, renovate  the  life,  reclaim  the  idolater,  purify 
the  adulterer,  make  penitent  the  murderer,  and  sub- 
due the  vilest  sinner  to  righteousness  and  to  God? 

Whence  even  now  that  shaking  so  perceptible 
among  the  nations?  It  comes  from  heaven.  It  is 
the  moving  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  the  living  spirit 
of  a  risen  Saviour.  Such  were  the  ancient  tokens 
of  His  presence  in  His  Church,  and  they  are  still  the 
tokens  of  it. 

Yes,  every  penitent  that  weeps,  every  convert  that 
sings,  is  an  additional  subject  of  Christ's  eternal 
kingdom ;  more  than  this,— he  is  a  new  witness 
raised  up  of  God  to  perpetuate  the  knowledge  and 
the  evidence  of  the  fact  that  He  has  risen. 

"  For  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east  and 
shineth  to  the  west,  so  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of 
Man  be," — and  so  has  been,  and  still  is  His  coming. 
Whether  kingdoms  rise  or  fall,  every  change  acceler- 
ates His  progress  ;  all  events  bend  unto  His  purpose. 
The  whole  earth  is  bowing,  or  preparing  to  bow  to 
His  authority,  and  coming  under  the  dominion  of  His 
sceptre.  Yonder  regions  of  error  and  delusion  be- 
long to  Jesus ;  He  is  approaching  to  possess  them, 
and  the  way  is  opening  for  His  triumphant  entry. 
The  glad  tidings  have  already  reached  many,  and 
they  will  soon  have  reached  every  nation.  Then  will 
the  purposes  of  grace  be  consummated,  and  the  mil- 
lennial jubilee  begin. 

To  this  momentous  result  the  economy  of  Provi- 
dence is  evidently  tending.  Hence  that  bias  of  the 
human  mind  that  begins  to  lean  towards  the  relief  of 
pagan  miseries.     Hence  that  spirit   of   religious  in- 


CUEIST   RISEN    IN    THE    HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH.    Ill 

quiry,  of  action,  and  of  enterprise  poured  out  on  the 
rifen  and  on  the  rising  generation — poured  out  on 
our  schools,  poured  out  on  our  colleges. 

All  the  heathen  are  Christ's  heritage.  The  classic 
divinities  of  Greece  and  Eome  have  fallen  before  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  but  Juggernaut  remains.  There 
are  idol  gods  which  are  yet  to  be  overthrown,  and 
their  dominions  added  to  the  empire  of  the  Son  of 
Man.  The  devotee  that  plunges  into  the  waters  of 
the  Indus  is  about  to  be  rescued  ;  the  flame  that  flares 
from  the  funeral  pile  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  is 
about  to  be  extinguished ;  Africa  is  hastening  to  be 
released,  Asia  to  be  re-enlightened,  and  the  Ameri- 
can savage  to  be  disciplined  and  baptized.  Much 
has  already  been  done,  but  more  remains  to  be  accom- 
plished. The  field  of  souls  is  even  now  white  unto 
the  harvest;  a  harvest  plenteous  indeed,  but  the 
laborers  are  few.  Few,  however,  they  will  not  al- 
ways be  ;  for  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  is  preparing  to 
send  forth  a  fresh  accession  of  laborers  into  his  field ; 
and  he  will  send  them  forth,  and  they  shall  reap  it, 

That  call  is  now  heard  among  us.*  Its  voice  ha3 
visited  our  seat  of  learning.  Youth  and  talents,  as 
well  as  piety,  befit  this  enterprise  of  a  world's  redemp- 
tion. The  conqueror  of  the  tomb  in  person  is  mak- 
ing the  selection.  We  see  it;  nor  guile  nor  force 
can  hinder  him.  At  pleasure  he  visits  the  most  re-\ 
tired  and  the  most  conspicuous  walks  of  life.  He 
approaches  the  haunts  of  ignorance,  he  enters  the 
school  of  science,  and  everywhere  alike  his  hallowing 
influence  is  felt. 

Suddenly  all  that  is  gross  is  purified;  all  that  was 

*  It  is  evident  that  this  sermon  was  preached,  or  this  addition 
made  to  it,  during  a  season  of  revival  in  the  College.  See  note,  p.  101 . 


112  THE   RESURRECTION. 

profane,  consecrated.  The  alcoves  of  the  Lyceum  are 
resorted  to  for  snblimer  inquiries,  the  groves  of  the 
Academy  for  holier  contemplations.  The  Christian 
graces  adorn  with  chaster  ornaments  the  vestibule  of 
literature,  and  sit  enthroned  on  the  seat  of  the  pagan 
muses. 

All  is  changed ;  on  every  side  the  sign  of  the  pro- 
phet Jonah  reappears.  Not  Nineveh  was  more  alter- 
ed than  is  that  seminary  which  the  spirit  of  Emmanuel 
enters.  Assemblages  of  youth  whom  nothing  serious 
could  hitherto  aft ect  are  awed  as  by  a  divine  presence. 
The  thoughtless  become  thoughtful;  the  wayward, 
docile ;  the  giddy,  grave.  In  the  chambers  of  impie- 
ty the  sigh  of  contrition  is  repeated.  From  the  hall 
of  pleasure  the  minstrelsy  of  Zion  resounds.  And 
even  that  profaned  chapel,  where  pains  and  penalties 
so  long  extorted  a  reluctant  and  heartless  worship, 
now  sends  up  from  redeemed  lips  the  spontaneous 
hallelujah  to  the  God  of  mercy. 

These  are  no  equivocal  phenomena.  Such  tokens 
of  a  present  God  are  not  to  be  mistaken.  Now,  as 
formerly,  O  thou  Conqueror  of  death !  out  of  the 
mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou  perfected 
praise. 

"Redeemer  of  our  souls,  arisen  from  the  sepulchre, 
we  know  thee  by  thy  deeds  of  mercy ;  we  know  thee 
by  thy  train  of  glory.  Welcome  to  our  schools  of 
i  learning ;  welcome  to  our  halls  of  science.  Here  too 
make  thy  triumphant  entry.  Be  our  abodes  thy  habi- 
tation ;  our  hearts  thy  throne. 

Hear,  O  God !  our  prayer,  and  answer  us ;  and  to 
thy  name  shall  be  the  glory. 


VII. 


CHRIST  S    RESURRECTION    THE    CONFIRMATION    OF     A    FU- 
TURE  JUDGMENT. 

lie  hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  lohich  lie  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained;  whereof  he 
hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from 
the  dead. — Acts  xvii.  31. 

A  future  day  of  judgment  presupposes  a  future 
state  of  being.  Here  man  dies;  but  since  his  judge 
and  his  day  of  judgment  have  been  appointed,  it  is 
manifest  that  God  purposes  that  he  should  live  here- 
after, that  he  may  be  hereafter  judged. 

The  Egyptians,  indeed,  it  is  said,  held  an  inquest 
and  passed  a  sentence  over  the  bodies"  of  their  dead. 

Funeral  ceremonies  were  awarded  to  their  public 
benefactors ;  but  to  those  who  had  lived  ingloriously 
were  denied  the  honors  of  sepulture.  The  prospec- 
tive view  of  such  a  posthumous  retribution  might  have 
a  political  effect,  but  it  could  exert  no  truly  moral 
or  spiritual  influence.  Light  must  fall  that  sentence 
that  falls  on  him  who  neither  knows,  nor  fears,  nor 
suffers,  nor  enjoys.  Thus  falls  not  God's  decisive  sen- 
tence. "  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living,"  and  they  are  living  men  whom  He  proposes 
to  arraign  before  his  dread  tribunal.  It  was  not  in- 
tended that  all  those  sinners  who  inhabit  the  earth 


114:  THE   KESUERECTION 

should  with  infamy  be  buried  beneath  it ;  but,  that 
all  who  are  in  their  graves  should  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God ;  that  all  the  dead,  small  and  great, 
should  come  forth,  and  stand  before  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ,  to  give  an  account  of  all  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good  or  whether  they  be 
evil.  These,  these  were  the  grand,  decisive  points  to 
be  established.  And  what  so  precisely  calculated  to 
establish  them,  and  give  to  the  minds  of  men  a  strong, 
a  steady,  and  a  fixed  conviction  of  their  truth,  as  the 
actual  raising  from  the  dead  of  Him  whom  God  had 
appointed  to  be  their  judge  ? 

Notwithstanding  that  bewildering  darkness  with 
which  apostasy  has  overspread  our  world,  concealing 
God  and  rendering  heaven  invisible, — notwithstand- 
ing that  slumberous  influence  which  has  sealed  the 
sinner's  eyelids,  and  touched  and  paralyzed  his  moral 
sensibilities,  there  has  ever  been  the  thought  of  a 
judgment  to  come. 

The  idea  has  gleamed  through  all  the  religions  and 
mythologies  of  the  world.  Notions  of  a  dread  futurity, 
fearfully  strong  and  tenacious,  however  obscure  and 
indistinct,  have  been  almost  if  not  altogether  uniform 
and  universal  among  mankind.  During  the  darkest 
times  and  in  the  most  degraded  state,  some  wavering 
hopes,  some  undefined  fears  have  still  lingered  within 
the  bosom,  and  alternately  dilated  and  wrung  the 
heart. 

Yet  nothing  certain  was  known ;  or  if  there  ever 
had  been  such  knowledge,  still,  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin,  and  during  the  lapse  of  ages,  it  had 
been  lost— yes,  so  far  as  human  efforts  were  con- 
cerned, lost  beyond  recovery. 

Philosophy  examined,  and  doubted;  re-examined, 


CONFIRMS    A   FUTURE   JUDGMENT.  115 

and  still  doubted.  Again  it  examined  and  conjectured, 
but  affirmed  nothing.  It  could  never  say,  "  I  know 
that  my  Kedeemer  liveth ;  "  it  could  never  rise  to  the 
assurance,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed."  Even 
.Revelation,  though  it  intimated  and  suggested,  had 
not  as  yet  clearly  and  fully  established  the  fact  and 
the  manner  of  future  being. 

It  yet  remained  for  life  and  immortality  to  be 
brought  to  light.  The  pagan  world  groped  in  the 
profoundest  darkness,  and  even  those  who  dwelt  in 
Zion  seemed  benighted.  Yes,  even  among  the  Jews 
there  were,  at  the  time  of  Christ's  appearance,  not  a 
few  who  denied  that  there  existed  in  heaven  or  in  hell 
either  angel  or  spirit. 

So  far  as  concerned  the  human  race,  if  there  were 
no  appearances  that  absolutely  proved  this  gloomy  \\y- 
pothesis,  there  were  many  that  seemed  to  favor  it, 
and  none  which  rendered  its  falsehood  certain  and  pal- 
pable. No  attribute  of  man,  how  sublime  soever,  ap- 
peared to  be  imperishable.  It  was  not  the  organic  eye 
only,  but  the  intellectual  also,  that  grew  dim  and  some- 
times even  sightless  by  age. 

Man  ripened  not  in  knowledge  as  he  ripened  in  years, 
nor  were  gray  hairs  any  certain  indication  of  matured 
wisdom.  On  the  contrary,  reason,  and  memory,  and 
fancy,  and  imagination  were  seen  to  decay,  and  some- 
times even  to  disappear,  before  their  possessor  readied 
the  sepulchre.  Instead  of  brightening  as  she  approach- 
ed her  native  immortality,  there  was  in  the  soul  an 
evident  dimness,  an  apparent  falling  off,  a  kind  of  ap- 
proximation towards  the  extinction  of  her  being,  which 
if  it  gave  not,  at  least  seemed  to  give,  sad  presage  of 
approaching  and  eternal  non-existence. 

Souls,  if  indeed  souls  existed  apart  from  organized 


116  THE   EESUKRECTION 

matter,  had  somehow  been  ever  disappearing,  like 
ephemera  that  sport  away  their  hour  in  the  sunbeam 
of  the  morning  and  are  seen  no  more.  Behind  them 
they  left  no  token  of  existence,  nor  did  they  ever  re- 
appear. If  indeed  they  survived  elsewhere,  no  vision 
reached  their  residence,  no  ear  caught  their  accent ; 
nor  from  thence  had  they  ever  sent  back  to  the  world 
they  left  either  messenger  or  message.  It  might  be, 
indeed,  that  they  had  not  perished  in  the  catastrophe 
of  death ;  or  it  might  be  they  had  perished ;  and  if  they 
had  not,  their  being  and  their  state  of  being  were  mat- 
ters of  opinion,  not  of  knowledge ;  of  faith,  and  not  of 
sight. 

But  if  the  phenomena  of  the  soul,  as  observed  by 
the  sin-beclouded  eye,  were  equivocal  and  gloomy, 
how  much  more  so  those  of  the  body ! 

For  some  thousands  of  years  these  material  fabrics, 
which  from  their  elevated  form  and  fearful  organiza- 
tion might  have  seemed  to  have  been  made  for  immor- 
tality, had  been  mouldering  back  to  dust.  In  most 
cases,  even  before  they  had  been  laid  in  the  sepulchre, 
grace  and  beauty,  erectness  and  vigor,  all  that  forms 
the  outward  glory  of  manhood,  had  forsaken  them. 
Heaps  of  awful  ruins,  these  wrecks  of  decayed  and 
decaying  bodies  had  been  accumulating,  and  were  on 
every  side  accumulated.  The  process  of  destruction 
appeared  to  be  complete  and  final.  No  symptom  of 
returning  life  had  thereafter  as  yet  appeared.  Dust 
was  committed  unto  dust,  and  ashes  unto  ashes,  with 
the  same  sad  prospect  as  when  the  first  funeral  was 
attended.  Ever  since  that  impressive  and  appalling  so- 
lemnity, the  night  of  death  had  lasted,  and  the  sleep 
of  the  sepulchre  was  yet  an  iron  slumber. 

Release  had  indeed  been  intimated,  it  had    been 


CONFIRMS   A    FUTURE   JUDGMENT.  117 

waited  for;  age  after  age  it  had  been  waited  for;  but  it 
came  not.  There  is  a  limit  to  expectancy ;  even  hope  de- 
layed makes  the  heart  sad.  It  was  not  in  man  to  con- 
template this  house  of  silence — this  land  of  desolation, 
becoming  perpetually  still  more  desolate.  It  was  not 
in  man  to  contemplate  these  things  without  misgivings. 

A  great  while  had  already  intervened  since  the  first 
man  died ;  a  great  while  yet  remained  before  that  gen- 
eral "resurrection  at  the  last  day"  in  which  Martha 
and  pious  Jews  believed  before  the  time  of  our  Saviour. 
That  fearful  lapse-  of  ages  which  indefinitely,  if  not 
immeasurably,  separated  the  fulfilment  from  the  pro- 
phecy, required  to  be  broken  by  some  significant  sign, 
some  intelligible  token,  some  unequivocal  pledge,  some 
ascertained  fact  on  which  the  eye  of  science  as  well  as 
of  faith  could  rest. 

It  had  been  said  that  the  dead  should  Tise.  The 
saying  had  been  repeated ;  yet  the  dea'd  rose  not ; 
"  neither  awoke  they  out  of  their  sleep," — a  sleep 
which,  notwithstanding  all  that  reason  intimated  to 
the  contrary,  notwithstanding  all  that  revelation  fore- 
shadowed to  the  contrary,  threatened  to  be  eternal. 

A  case  was  therefore  necessary;  a  real  ascertained 
case,  an  actual  resurrection.  It  was  necessary  in 
order  to  refute  the  cavils,  to  remove  the  doubts,  and 
put  at  rest  the  faith  of  mankind. 

Nor  would  an  actual  resurrection,  if  the  case  were 
insulated  and  individual,  settle  the  general  question. 
Some  illustrious  personage,  some  public  official  char- 
acter, some  known  and  constituted  representative 
of  the  species,  was  required, — some  one  with  refer- 
ence to  whom,  and  pointing  to  whose  sepulchre  the 
future  evangelist  could  say  :  "  As  in  Adam  all  died, 
so  in  this  man  shall  all  be  made  alive," 


118  THE   RESURRECTION 

Such  a  case  could  be  furnished  only  by  Messiah. 
And  by  him  it  was  furnished.  He  rose  to  give  the 
world  assurance  of  a  future  judgment,  by  giving 
them  assurance  of  a  future  resurrection.  It  was  the 
grand  criterion  ;  for  if  the  dead  rise,  the  hope  of  the 
righteous  is  confirmed,  whilst  the  sinner  escapes  not, 
even  by  death,  from  either  God  or  existence.  Though 
he  might  hope  to  do  so,  this  change  would  place  him 
again  in  a  condition  to  be  judged  for  "  sins  committed 
in  the  body"  and  therefore  demanding  such  a  reha- 
biliment  as  the  most  impartial  and  appropriate  theatre 
for  their  retribution. 

No  other  resurrection  could  have  given  that  assur- 
ance. It  was  needful,  therefore,  that  lie  should  rise. 
He  did  rise ;  and,  rising,  refuted  the  cavils,  removed 
the  doubts,  and  furnished  the  evidence  for  putting 
the  faith  of  mankind  at  rest.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  has  given 
to  every  individual  son  of  Adam  assurance  of  his  own 
resurrection.  For  God  did  in  effect  raise  the  whole 
human  race,  when,  in  evidence  and  in  token  of  that 
event,  He  raised  that  one,  and  that  only  individual, 
by  whom  in  this  respect  the  whole  human  race  was 
personated. 

But  to  give  assurance  "  that  God  hath  appointed  a 
day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
ness, by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained,"  it  was 
needful,  in  another  point  of  view,  that  he  should  raise 
J] Ira  from  the  dead. 

Existence  beyond  the  grave  established,  retribution 
of  some  sort  follows  by  necessary  consequence,  and 
would  require  no  distinct  and  separate  proof. 

If  God  intended  to  raise  the  dead,  that  sin  was  to 
be  punished  would  be  obvious  enough.     It  was  not, 


CONFIRMS    A    FUTURE   JUDGMENT.  119 

therefore,  to  authenticate  the  mere  fact  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure against  unrighteousness, — it  was  not  to  seal 
damnation  and  render  hell  certain, — it  was  not  to  no- 
tify to  fallen  men  that  the  same  fate  awaited  them 
which  had  already  sunk  into  perdition  fallen  angels, — 
it  was   not  to  recall  the  minds  of   sinners  to  some 
future   retribution,  according   to  the   letter  of  that 
inexorable  law  which  said  originally,  which  still  says, 
and  will  forever  say :  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall 
die.     No,  it  was  not  for  this  purpose  that  Jesus  Christ 
rose.     For  such  a  retribution  no  preparation  could  be 
made  by  him  who  had  become  a  sinner.     Not  even 
contrition  could  avail  him  ;  it  is  not  the  humbled,  but 
the  holy  heart  that  the  law  approves.     No  ministry 
of  reconciliation  is  sent  to  devils,  no  voice  urges  apos- 
tate angels  to  repentance,  by  either  the  certainty  or 
the  nearness  of  that  fearful  condemnation  which  awaits 
them.     It  was  not,  therefore,  as  we  have  already  said, 
to  recall  the  minds  of  sinners  to  some  future  retribu- 
tion, according  to  the  letter  of  his  inexorable  law,  that 
God  raised  Jesus  Christ  from   the  dead;  but  it  was 
to  give  assurance  unto  all  men  of  a  day  of  judgment 
of  a  peculiar  kind, — the  result  of  a  special  appoint- 
ment,— at  which  that  man  whom  God  hath  ordained 
will  preside, — at  which  the  plea  of  his  oion  vicarious 
sufferings  will  be  alone  available,  and  at  which  par- 
dons will  be  ratified,  as  well  as  condemnations  pro- 
nounced. 

These  were  the  points  to  be  established ;  and  to  es- 
tablish them  conclusively  and  satisfactorily,— in  one 
word,  to  give  assurance  to  all  men  that  God  had  ap- 
pointed a  day  to  judge  the  world  in  such  a  manner,  and 
by  such  a  judge,  it  was  needful  that  He  should  raise 
him,  whom  he  had  thus  appointed,  from  the  dead. 


120  THE   EESUEBECTION 

To  give  assurance  of  the  one,  it  was  needful  that 
God  should  do  the  other.  For,  without  some  distinct 
and  positive  attestation  of  the  fact  that  such  a  day  of 
judgment  was  appointed,  never  could  it  have  entered 
the  minds  of  men  or  of  angels.  Nature  gave  no 
intimation  of  it;  reason  gave  none.  It  was  not 
analogous  to  any  act  hitherto  recorded  in  the  judicial 
proceedings  of  the  universe.  You  might  search  the 
records  of  eternity,  aud  open  every  fold  in  the  files  of 
the  Chancery  above,  but  you  would  find  no  case  of 
pardon,  nor  even  the  term  so  much  as  once  inscribed 
there.  The  idea  of  a  judgment  to  come  had  been  in  the 
world ;  but  the  mode  of  proceeding,  the  appointment 
of  one  who  had  risen  from  the  dead  to  be  the  judge, 
was  all  unknown  and  unconceived.  It  was  a  novel 
appointment;  it  was  a  mysterious  appointment;  it  was 
an  appointment,  therefore,  that  required  confirmation. 

On  entering  our  world,  Jesus  Christ  had  already  an- 
nounced himself  as  a  Saviour.  But  to  execute  this 
office  in  behalf  of  creatures  already  under  condemna- 
tion, it  was  requisite  not  only  that  he  should  sustain 
the  eternal  priesthood,  but  also  that  he  should  be  in- 
vested with  judicial  powers. 

Never  was  an  undertaking  so  awful  or  so  splendid 
as  that  of  rescuing  from  the  pollution  of  sin,  from  the 
dominion  of  death,  and  from  the  pains  of  hell,  a  race 
whom  that  inflexible  law  which  changeth  not  had 
already  pronounced  accursed.  Such,  however,  was 
the  undertaking  which  Jesus  Christ  forewarned  the 
world  he  was  about  to  execute.  The  miraculous 
occurrences  that  marked  his  progress  from  Bethlehem 
to  Calvary  bespoke  his  official  character.  Less  than 
a  prophet  sent  from  God,  he  could  not  be.  More  he 
need  not  be,  if    a  second  promulgation  of  the  law 


CONFIRMS    A    FUTURE   JUDGMENT. 


121 


merely  had  been  his  objeet.  But  it  was  not  His 
mission  as  Saviour,  Healer,  Redeemer,  was  distinct 
from  his  judicial.  In  this  aspect  of  his  character,  he 
came  neither  to  adjudge  life  to  the  innocent,  nor 
death  to  the  guilty.  It  was  not  as  judge  that  he  first 
came  to  tabernacle  in  human  flesh.  His  office,  then, 
as  he  announces  it,  was  "  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the 
captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that 
were  bound." 

His  harbinger  preceded  him,  preaching  repentance 
for  the  remission  of  sins.  He  followed  in  person, 
speaking  the  same  language,  and  promising  to  the 
vilest  sinners,  being  penitent,  pardon  here  and  eternal 
life  hereafter.  For  this  he  encouraged  mankind  to 
hope,  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  he  pledged 
his  veracity  as  the  Son  of  God. 

But  would  he  redeem  the  pledge  %  could  he  redeem 
it  ?  No  panoply  as  yet  had  ever  been  flung  around 
the  person  of  a  sinner.  Hitherto  the  law  had  crushed 
every  being  on  whom  its  curse  had  fallen. 

The  realms  of  darkness  were  already  filled  with 
spirits  once  high  in  rank  and  terrible  in  majesty— 
now  prostrate,  imprisoned,  and  despairing.  Ages  had 
since  revolved,  but  revolving  ages  brought  them 
neither  deliverance  nor  deliverer. 

To  turn  aside  the  sword  of  justice  from  its  object 
was  the  fearful  office  which  Jesus  Christ  assumed.  It 
was  his  voice  that  held  back  the  arm  of  vengeance, 
when  He  said,  "  Spare  the  victim  of  sin  and  death ; 
spare  him  from  going  down  into  the  pit ;  /will  be  his 
ransom."  Having  said  this,  he  offered  himself  in  be- 
half of  sinners,  a  voluntary  sacrifice ;  as  such  he  was 
bound,  he  was  slain,  he  was  immolated.  The  cruci- 
fixion and  burial  of  Jesus  Christ  were  in  proof  that 


122  THE   JRESUKEECTION 

his  proffered  act  of  self-devotion  had  been  consum- 
mated.  Though  not  himself  a  sinner,  the  penalty  of 
the  law  had  reached  him,  and  he  became  a  tenant  of 
the  sepulchre. 

But  with  what  effect?  Had  the  sacrifice  which  he 
had  made  been  acceptable?  Had  it  been  availing, 
and  would  the  sinner  in  consequence  be  released  ? 

Prodigies  had  indeed  signalized  his  sufferings  and 
rendered  memorable  his  death.  They  were  prodigies, 
however,  if  not  discouraging,  at  least  of  doubtful  im- 
port. The  sun  darkened,  the  rocks  rent,  the  moun- 
tains quaking,  were  not  the  most  intelligible  tokens 
of  j  ustice  satisfied,  of  vengeance  appeased.  Especially 
may  this  be  said  when  we  think  of  that  solemn  si- 
lence winch  ensued,  that  ominous  darkness  which 
settled  down  and  rested  on  the  sepulchre  of  Him  who 
had  become  a  voluntary  subject  to  death  for  the  re- 
demption of  Israel. 

The  question  therefore  returns  with  all  its  agoniz- 
ing interest,  Has  this  sacrifice  been  accepted  ?  Will 
it  be  availing  ?  On  this  point  the  Church  hesitated ; 
faith  wavered ;  hope  wavered.  The  first  and  the 
second  day  elapsed,  and  no  tidings  were  received 
from  the  sepulchre.  Still,  the  great  question  that 
involved  the  destiny  of  so  many  millions  was  not  de- 
cided. Neither  heaven  nor  earth,  however,  remained 
longer  in  suspense.  Suddenly  an  unknown  glory  lit 
up  the  moral  firmament ;  the  night  of  death  and  of 
nature  fled  together ;  and  as  the  third  day  dawned  on 
the  world,  the  ascertained,  the  accredited  Messiah 
came  forth  from  the  sepulchre,  "  the  resurrection  and 
the  life." 

That  event  broke  the  agonizing  silence  which  suc- 
ceeded to  the  crucifixion,  and  gave  to  the  world  the 


CONFIRMS    A    FUTURE   JUDGMENT.  123 

desired  and  the  decisive  answer.  That  event  was 
God's  official  proclamation  that  the  sacrifice  on  Cal- 
vary had  been  accepted,  and  would  be  availing.  It 
was  the  solemn  recognition  of  Emmanuel  in  his  media- 
torial character ;  it  was  his  solemn  ordination  to  the 
judicial  office.  It  told  mankind,  That  mysterious 
personage  whom  you  saw  suspended  on  the  cross,  and 
buried  in  the  sepulchre,  is  my  son;  lie  is  your  Judge; 
hear  ye,  and  fear  ye  Him. 

In  this  significant  and  unparalleled  event  there 
could  be  no  mistake,  no  misinterpretation.  Once 
the  victim  of  death,  he  must  continue  so,  or  disenthral 
himself.  Nor  could  he  reappear,  except  as  a  con- 
queror. As  such  he  did  reappear,  and  the  keys  of 
Death  and  Hell  were  in  his  hand. 

That  God  had  appointed  a  day  to  judge  the  world 
by  Jesus  Christ  was  not  simply  an  intimation ;  it 
was  not  presumptive  evidence ;  but  it  was,  as  Paul 
affirms,  a  positive  assurance  that  God  gave  when  He 
raised  him  from  the  dead.  When  I  see  Him,  once 
humbled  even  unto  death,  now  arrayed  in  his  robe 
of  glory  and  sitting  on  his  throne  of  power,  I  rec- 
ognize in  him  The  Son  of  God;  the  Judge  of  Man. 

This  event,  the  resurrection,  answers  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  intended.  It  solves  my  doubts ;  it 
removes  my  difficulties.  The  mysteries,  the  obscuri- 
ties, the  improbabilities  of  the  Christian  system  per- 
plex and  embarrass  me  no  longer.  Nothing  seems 
incredible  when  authenticated  by  that  momentous 
fact,  the  resurrection  of  my  Saviour.  If  at  any  time 
new  objections  present  themselves,  or  if  my  former 
doubts  and  difficulties  return  to  bewilder  and  distress 
me,  one  glance  toward  the  sepulchre  dispels  and  dis- 
sipates them — from  thence  a  light  forever  shines.     It 


124  THE   RESURRECTION. 

is  the  light  that  cheers  my  prospect,  that  shows  me 
heaven,  that  shows  me  immortality.  In  that  light  I 
see  the  bow  of  Death  unstrung ;  I  see  his  quiver 
broken.  These  trophies  attest  the  fact  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  conqueror.  I  do  not  want,  I  could  not 
have  a  higher  proof  that  he  is  competent  to  be  my 
Saviour,  that  he  is  ordained  to  be  my  Judge. 

On  this  issue  his  claim  depended.  To  this,  his 
resurrection,  I  am  taught  to  look  as  the  ground  of 
my  assurance.  Had  he  failed  here,  had  Death  re- 
mained conqueror,  had  the  grave  continued  to  im- 
prison Him  as  it  imprisons  other  dead,  much  as  I 
might  admire  the  grandeur  of  his  enterprise,  much  as 
I  might  revere  his  memory  as  the  Son  of  Man,  I  could 
not  honor  him,  I  could  not  confide  in  him,  as  the  Son 
of  God.  Iso  ;  turning  in  sadness  from  his  sepulchre, 
still  closed  and  sealed,  I  could  only  say,  as  his  discon- 
solate disciples  said  in  the  hour  of  their  desolation, 
"  Verily,  this  was  he  who  it  was  thought  should  have 
redeemed  Israel.1' 

Had  he  failed  here, — but  he  has  not  failed.  I 
know  that  he  has  not.  I  see  the  seal  broken ;  I  see 
the  stone  rolled  back;  I  see  Him  risen  and  victorious; 
ascending  with  the  spoils  of  Hell  and  Death  to  His 
native  heaven.  Before  Him  "the  gates  are  lifted 
up ;  the  everlasting  doors  are  opened ;  "  he  enters  ; 
he  ascends  the  throne;  he  sits  down  on  the  right 
hand  of  God  the  Father,  and  thence  shall  he  come  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  Merited  distinction — 
deserved  honor.  O  !  that  by  faith  and  penitence  we 
may  be  prepared  for  that  day  of  trial.  Then  come, 
even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus ! 


VIII. 

CHRIST    RAISED    "  TO    GIVE    REPENTANCE." 

And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  loinkedat;  but  now  com- 
mandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent.— Acts  xvii.  30. 

Why  now?  Because  he  hath  appointed  a  day  in 
the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness, 
by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained,  whereof  he  hath 
given  assurance  unto  all  men  in  that  he  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead. 

Since  these  things  are  so  ;  since  God  has  appointed 
a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righte- 
ousness by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained;  and 
since,  as  we  have  seen,  He  hath  given  assurance  unto 
all  men  of  that  appointment  by  raising  him  from  the 
dead,  with  what  infinite  propriety  does  lie  noio  com- 
mand all  men  everywhere  to  repent  ! 

Independent  of  such  assurance,  independent  of  such 
a  day  of  judgment,  independent  of  that  benignant 
ordination  by  which  a  man  was  appointed  to  be  the 
Judge  of  men— independent  of  all  this,  repentance 
had  been  the  duty  of  every  sinner ;  and  God  might 
therefore,  without  any  imputation  on  his  justice,  have 
enjoined  it  upon  all.  Sin  as  committed  against  God  is 
most  irrational  as  well  as  criminal ;  more  than  this,  it 
is  most  vile  and  detestable.  For  its  own  sake,  there- 
fore, ought  it  to  be  renounced  ;  and  not  only  re- 
nounced, it  ought  to  be  detested  and  abhorred.  Ke- 
pentance,  though  it  expiates  not  sin,  befits  the  sinner ; 
sins  persisted  in  become  more  sinful.  Impenitence  is 
itself  a  crime,  and  renders  other  crimes  more  crimi- 
nal.    But  if  repentance,  even  during  those  times  of 


126  THE   KESUKKECTION. 

ignorance,  which  God  winked  at,  was  a  duty,  how 
much  more  so  is  it  now ! 

God's  will,  made  known  as  such,  whether  in  nature 
or  in  revelation,  is  law ;  and  every  commandment  of 
His,  even  though  enforced  by  no  other  consideration, 
is  binding  on  the  conscience.  But  this  command- 
ment, now  given  unto  all  men,  to  repent,  imposes  addi- 
tional obligation,  because  it  is  accompanied  by  addi- 
tional motives  to  obey. 

Though  annihilation  terminated  man's  being,  and 
oblivion  covered  his  memory  and  his  crimes,  it  had 
been  base  and  detestable  to  sin  away  even  such  an 
ephemeral  existence.  A  day,  an  hour,  misspent,  would 
be  inglorious,  and  cast  dishonor  on  the  being  who 
misspent  it.  If  he  who  persisted  in  his  sins,  though 
ignorant  of  a  future  retribution,  would  be  a  wretch 
deserving  of  condemnation,  how  much  more  does  he 
deserve,  who  knows  that  a  day  of  judgment  is  ap- 
j)ointed  and  yet  repenteth  not.  How  much  more 
guilty  still  is  he  who  knows  that  for  that  day  a  plea 
has  been  provided  through  which  repentance  becomes 
available,  a  plea  on  whose  merits  not  the  guiltless 
only,  but  the  contrite  soul  will  be  pronounced  just — 
how  much  more  guilty  still,  we  say,  is  he  who  knows 
all  this,  and  yet  repenteth  not ! 

O  God !  during  those  days  of  ignorance  of  which 
thou  speakest,  though  even  then  no  justification  of  sin 
could  be  set  up,  there  might  have  been  offered  for  it 
some  faint  show  of  palliation.  But  thy  revelation  of 
a  day  of  Judgment  has  taken  from  the  sinner  all  ex- 
cuse. What  will  it  avail  him,  what  will  it  avail  me, 
that  crimes  are  secret  ?  Since,  though  I  could  escape 
the  condemnation  of  man,  I  now  know  that  I  cannot 
escape  thy  righteous  Judgment. 


CHRIST   RAISED    "  TO   GIVE   REPENTANCE."         127 

O  God !  hadst  thou  in  thy  wrath  forewarned  me 
of  a  day  of  vengeance  merely;  hadst  thou  drawn 
aside  the  veil  and  shown  me  the  dread  tribunal  of 
justice  before  which  fallen  angels  once  had  stood, 
and  whence  nothing  but  the  thunders  of  the  law  are 
uttered— hadst  thou  done  this,  horror-stricken  and  in 
despair  I  might  have  fled,  crying  only  to  rocks  and 
mountains  to  fall  upon  me  and  hide  me  from  a  pres- 
ence before  which  it  were  vain  for  a  sinner  to  hope 
to  stand.  But  thy  revealed  day  of  Judgment,  at  which 
thy  Son,  my  Saviour,  is  ordained  to  preside,  allures 
me  while  it  awes.  .  Its  terrors  are  relieved  by  the 
beams  of  grace  ;  its  thunder  softened  by  the  note  of 
mercy.  JVow,  if  I  repent  not,  I  am  utterly  irreclaim- 
able and  inexcusable;  because'  now  I  know  that 
"  there  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be 
feared."  JVow,  if  I  repent  not,  thy  throne  will  be  not 
only,  but  will  be  seen  to  be  altogether  guiltless ;  for 
I  refuse  even  thy  proffered  clemency,  and  in  despite 
of  thy  very  grace  weave  for  myself  the  web  of 
destiny. 

What  is  true  of  myself  is  true  of  all  men ;  for  the 
same  day  of  judgment  is  appointed  for  all,  and  the 
same  assurance  of  it  is  given  to  all.  Why  should  not 
all  then  listen  and  obey  ?  Since  this  great  truth  has 
been  revealed,  since  assurance  of  it  has  been  given, 
why  are  not  our  sins  repented  of  ?  Why  are  not  our 
lives  reformed  ? 

Do  you  disbelieve  the  fact  ?  I  know  you  do  not. 
Confidently  as  you  may  speak  to  others,  that  apparent 
confidence  is  not  truly  felt.  You  daie  not,  you  do 
not  repose  yourself  upon  it.  You  impose,  perhaps, 
upon  the  world,  but  you  impose  not  on  God.  You 
impose  not  on  yourselves.     You  are  not  at  ease  in 


128  THE    RESURRECTION". 

your  infidei  security.  Apprehensions  follow  yon  to 
your  retirements,  and  everywhere,  when  alone,  your 
misgiving  heart  betrays  the  conscious  and  the  cow- 
ard sinner.  Though  you  hate  the  light,  you  cannot 
altogether  shun  its  influence ;  and  could  you  do  so, 
it  would  not  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  God's 
eternal  purpose.  Even  that  bewildering  and  treach- 
erous darkness  in  which  a  guilty  life  enshrouds  itself 
is  as  transient  as  it  is  treacherous  and  bewildering;. 
The  light  of  that  great  day,  as  you  approach  it,  will 
force  itself  upon  you ;  through  the  night  of  death 
and  the  shadows  of  the  sepulchre  it  will  force  itself 
upon  you.  All  believe  alike  on  this  article  the  mo- 
ment they  feel  the  fatal  grasp  of  the  king  of  terrors. 
The  touch  of  death  is  fatal  to  infidelity.  I  have  seen 
many  a  dying  sinner,  but  I  have  never  seen  a  dying 
infidel ;  nor  will  the  future  pastor  who  shall  stand 
beside  your  death-bed,  notwithstanding  your  present 
scofhngs,  be  enabled  to  say  that  he  has  seen  one. 

It  is  time  for  thee,  O  sceptic,  to  renounce  thy  sins, 
for  thou  wilt  soon  renounce  thy  doubts.  I  say  soon,  for 
thou  wilt  soon  die.  Yes,  though  now  "  thy  breasts  be 
full  of  milk  and  thy  bones  moistened  with  marrow," 
thou  wilt  soon  die  ;  thou  wilt  soon  be  buried  ;  thou 
wilt  soon  be  raised  and  stand  before  the  Judgment- 
seat  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  there  answer  for  all  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body,  whether  they  be  good  or 
whether  they  be  evil.  So  shall  we  all.  O  then  let 
us  break  off  our  sins  by  repentance,  and  by  faith 
make  our  peace  with  God.  The  duty  is  universal ; 
the  motive  is  universal;  the  injunction  is  universal; 
for  though  the  times  of  the  world's  ignorance  God 
once  overlooked,  yet  now  "  lie  commandeth  all  men, 
everywhere,  to  repent. 


CIIKIST    RAISED    KT0    GIVE    REPENTANCE."  129 

John,  who  preceded  the  gospel  dispensation, 
preached  to  sinners  repentance  for  the  remission  of 
sins.  Jesus  Christ,  who  introduced  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation, preached  to  sinners  repentance  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins ;  and  so  we  who  follow  him,  preach  to 
sinners  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,  enforcing 
what  we  preach  by  the  assurance  which  he  has  given 
of  his  judicial  powers,  and  of  His  second  coming. 

Repentance,  repentance,  wherever  there  are  sin- 
ners, is  the  immediate  and  universal  duty.  Repent- 
ance, instant  repentance;  this  reaeon  dictates,  this  God 
commands.  He  speaks  to  all  mankind,  and  let  all 
mankind  obey  Him.  Obey  Him,  ye  who  hear  me. 
As  you  hope  to  enter  heaven,  as  you  dread  to  be 
turned  into  hell,  obey  him.  By  the  mingled  mercies 
and  terrors  of  the  appointed  and  the  approaching  day 
of  Judgment,  I  entreat,  I  adjure  you  to  obey  him. 
Obey  Him  now,  not  to-morrow.  Now  is  the  ap- 
pointed time.  Now  is  the  accepted  time  ;  now  re- 
pentance, though  not  meritorious,  is  availing,  and 
will  be  followed  by  salvation. 

Whether  you  will  at  some  future  time  repent,  is 
not  the  question.  Remorse  you  cannot  escape.  By 
an  inviolable  law,  waitings  and  lamentations  are 
yours,  O  sinner.  "  They  are  the  wages  of  sin."  God 
has  settled  that ;  and  you  may  as  well  hope  to  live 
without  life  as  to  sin  without  sorrow.  ■  But  salutary, 
saving  repentance  has  its  limits.  Even  regrets  for 
having  sinned  may  come  too  late — regrets  which,  far 
from  conducing  to  the  sinner's  forgiveness,  only  as- 
certain and  proclaim  his  misery. 

I  know  not  why  the  revolving  ages  of  our  eternity 
receive  their  type  exclusively  from  that  little  span  of 
time,  those  threescore  years  and  ten  which  have  pre 


130  THE   RESURRECTION. 

ceded.  But  so  it  is ;  man's  whole  immortal  being 
hangs  suspended  on  his  first  few  fleeting  moments ! 

The  first  is  the  decisive  act.  The  after-scene  is  not 
for  further  trial ;  it  consists  only  in  fruition,  or  in 
suffering.  All  this  side  death  is  preparation ;  all 
beyond  it,  retribution.  Into  these  two  periods  the  life 
of  every  moral  agent  is  divided.  The  one  is  short 
and  mutable :  the  other  endless  and  unchanjrinff. 
Become  quickly,  therefore,  what  you  mean  to  he  for- 
ever. Neither  to  the  virtuous  nor  the  vile  will  the 
trial  be  perpetual.  The  one  will  soon  have  reached 
that  limit  beyond  which  he  can  never  fall ;  the  other 
that  beyond  which  he  can  never  rise. 

The  day  of  Judgment  will  be  retributive ;  not  dis- 
ciplinary. Lamentations  poured  forth  at  the  bar  and 
in  the  presence  of  the  Judge,  move  not  his  clemency. 
It  is  only  previous  repentance  that  will  be  there 
available.  With  reference  to  the  wailings  which  that 
solemnity  will  occasion,  and  as  a  premonition  to  the 
sinner,  those  fearful  words  are  recorded :  "  Because  I 
have  called  and  ye  refused,  I  have  stretched  out  my 
hand,  and  no  man  regarded ;  but  ye  have  set  at 
naught  all  my  counsel,  and  would  none  of  my  re- 
proof. I  also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity,  I  will  mock 
when  your  fear  cometh ;  when  your  fear  cometh  as 
desolation,  and  your  destruction  cometh  as  a  whirl- 
wind ;  when  distress  and  anguish  shall  come  upon 
you — then  shall  they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not 
answer ;  they  shall  seek  me  early,  but  they  shall  not 
find  me." 

Forbearance,  so  conspicuous  in  the  divine  economy, 
has  its  limits.  That  day  always  approaching  at  length 
arrives, — the  day  when  the  things  which  relate  to  the 
sinner's  peace  are  forever  hidden  from  his  eyes.    Now, 


CHRIST   RAISED    "  TO    GIVE    REPENTANCE."  131 

God  waits  to  be  gracious.  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I 
take  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  rather 
that  he  should  turn  and  live.  Come  then  and  let  us 
reason  together ;  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they 
shall  be  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like 
crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.  Let  then  the  wicked 
man  forsake  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts,  and  let  them  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he 
will  have  mercy,  and  to  our  God,  and  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon.  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  at  my  reproofs,  for 
why  will  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  %  "  And  why  will 
you  die,  O  sinner  ?  Ye  who  hear  me,  why  ?  Why, 
since  Jesus  Christ  is  ordained  to  judge  the  world,  and 
since  repentance  will  insure  forgiveness,  why  will 
you  die  ?  Whence  this  unnatural  suicide ;  this  fren- 
zied self-destruction  ? 

If  only  after  having  insulted  God  and  debased 
yourselves ;  if  after  having  sinned  away  your  term  of 
being  on  earth,  and  made  yourselves  alike  unworthy 
and  incapable  of  heaven ;  if  only  after  this  you  could 
like  worms  creep  back  to  earth,  and  repose  in  eternal 
non-existence  !     But  no,  that  cannot  be. 

There  is  no  rest,  however  inglorious — there  is  no 
refuge,  no,  not  even  in  death,  to  wicked  men.  The 
vilest  earth  will  not  continue  to  enclose  the  viler  ashes 
of  the  unrepentant  sinner.  No  matter  how  degraded 
you  become ;  no  matter  how  low  you  sink  your  fleshly 
nature,  or  how  far  you  debase  your  reason  and  your 
heart,  the  appointed  judgment,  "  the  resurrection  of 
condemnation,"  still  awaits  you.  Though  you  turn 
away  from  the  light,  and,  shutting  your  eye  on  life 
and  heaven,  creep  like  reptiles  to  your  retreat  of 
death,  the  archangel's  trump  shall  wake  you.  You 
may  fall  from  virtue,  you  may  fall  from  honor,  but 


132  THE   RESURRECTION. 

you  cannot  fall  from  being.  The  wretch  that  has 
lived  to  sin  must  live  to  suffer.  So  justice  dictates  ; 
so  God  ordains. 

If  the  day  of  Judgment,  of  which  you  are  assured, 
were  a  day  of  unmixed  justice,  on  which  God  came 
forth  out  of  his  place  merel}7  to  avenge  the  righteous, 
to  purify  the  world,  and  to  rid  the  earth  as  he  before 
had  rid  the  heavens  of  rebels,  driving  the  whole  race 
of  fallen  men  as  he  drove  the  fallen  angels  into  hell 
— if  such  were  the  day  of  judgment,  a  day  of  indig- 
nation without  clemency,  of  retribution  without  for- 
giveness (though  even  then  repentance  would  be  your 
wisdom  and  your  duty),  we  would  not  thus  urge 
and  press  and  importune  you.  But  now  that  the 
bow  of  the  covenant  is  displayed  from  those  heavens 
through  which  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come ;  now  that 
the  judgment-seat  itself  is  radiant  alike  with  the 
beams  of  mercy  and  of  justice,  meeting  and  mingling 
as  they  stream  from  it,  dispelling  the  gloom  that 
overhung  our  world,  and  lighting  up  the  firmament 
above  with  peace  and  joy, — there  is  hope  that  you 
may  yet  be  induced  to  turn  and  flee  the  wrath  to  come. 

Therefore  it  is  that  we  entreat  you,  as  we  see  you 
advancing  to  your  eternal  doom  ;  therefore  it  is  that 
we  cry  after  you,  and  repeat  the  cry,  even  till  the 
blow  falls,  saying  ever,  "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  for  why 
will  ye  die  ? " 

The  thought  of  judgment  would  be  intolerably  ter-  * 
rific,  were  it  not  for  this  idea  of  mercy  mingling  with 
it.  It  is  the  superhuman  greatness  of  the  Gospel 
scheme  of  salvation  that  proves  its  divinity.  From 
some  primeval  source,  perhaps  the  prot-evangel  pro- 
claimed in  Eden,  the  idea  of  a  theanthropy,  or  of 
some  divine  incarnation,  had  entered  extensively  into 


CHRIST    RAISED    "  TO    GIVE   REPENTANCE."         133 

the  world's  mythologies;  but  forensic  substitution 
was  a  thought  unknown.  "  Eye  had  never  seen,  ear 
had  never  heard,  the  heart  of  man  could  never  have 
conceived"  it.  No  earthly  religion,  no  superstition, 
no  system  of  ethics  or  philosophy  could  ever  have  de- 
veloped it.  We  may  say,  too,  that  the  thought  of  a 
retributive  judgment  alone,  though  filling  us  with 
alarm,  could  never  have  produced  the  feeling  of  pen- 
itence. In  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  this  new  emotion 
had  its  birth.  "He  was  exalted  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour  that  he  might  give  repentance."  In  Him 
are  combined  the  royal  and  the  priestly,  the  ruling 
and  the  atoning,  the  judicial  and  the  healing  office. 
Every  element  of  fear  is  taken  away  when  we  are 
led  to  see,  and  with  all  our  souls  embrace,  this  won- 
drous provision  of  the  divine  mercy.  Hope  and  joy 
take  the  place  of  alarm  ;  a  sense  of  safety,  of  peace, 
of  blessed  assurance  fills  the  heart,  when  in  our  Judge 
we  recognize  our  Saviour, — when  in  the  triumphant 
Messiah  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  the  universe  we 
behold  the  Christus  Patiens,  the  suffering  Christ,  the 
mocked  Redeemer,  the  thorn-crowned  King,  "the 
Man  of  Sorrows  "  who  died  upon  the  cross  for  our 
salvation. 


IX. 

THE   UNIVERSAL   REIGN    OF    DEATH. 

And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God  winked  at;  but  now  com- 
mandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent. — Acts  xvii.  30. 

By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  icorld,  and  death  by  sin  ;  and  so 
death  reigned  over  all. — Romans  v.  12. 

Most  emphatically  is  this  duty  of  repentance  now 
commanded,  because  He  hath  appointed  a  day  ih 
which  he  will  judge  the  world'  by  that  man  whom  he 
hath  ordained,  lohereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto 
all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

"With  what  conclusiveness  repentance  is  enjoined, 
how  clear  the  reason  given,  how  strong  the  motive 
derived  from  the  assurance  of  a  future  j  udgment,  has 
been  already  shown.  Nor  repentance  only.  Every 
other  command,  as  well  as  that  coupled  with  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  risen  Saviour,  derives  additional 
force  from  the  assurance  that  is  given  of  that  event. 
Considerations  the  most  awful  and  the  most  tender 
now  impel  me  to  do  what  he  commands,  to  suffer 
what  he  ordains. 

In  the  resurrection  of  your  Saviour,  then,  behold, 
O  Christian,  a  new  and  universal  motive  both  to  ac- 
tion and  to  suffering. 

There  were  of  old,  and  there  still  are,  profane  men 
who  say,  Let  tis  eat  and  drinJc,for  to-morrow  we  die. 

But  since  Jesus  Christ  has  risen  the  believer  can 
never  feel  this  motive,  can  never  speak  this  language. 
It  may  befit  the  lips  of  the  Epicurean,  the  Sadducee, 
the  atheist  or  the  deist  who  believes  in  no  existence 


THE    UNIVERSAL    KEIGN    OF   DEATH.  135 

beyond  the  grave ;  but  it  becomes  not  him  to  whom 
light  breaking  from  the  tomb  of  Christ  has  opened 
heaven  and  immortality  and  judgment  and  forgive- 
ness. Henceforth  away,  unhallowed  pleasures ;  away, 
ye  scenes  of  mirth,  of  lust,  of  treachery,  and  blood. 
All  that  God  abhors  will  I  abhor ;  from  all  that  He 
forbids  will  I  forever  flee.  The  great  future  opens 
before  me.  The  present  has  all  its  importance  from 
its  connection  with  such  an  unbounded  prospect.  I 
feel  "  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  I  will  abstain 
to-day ;  I  will  deny  myself  to-day.  To-morrow,  no 
less  than  to-day,  is  mine ;  millions  of  ages  to  come 
are  mine ;  eternity  is  mine.  I  can  therefore  afford 
to  abstain  and  deny  myself,  did  not  the  thought  of  an 
eternal  being  destroy  the  relish  for  the  pleasure,  and 
sink  it  into  insignificance. 

Let  the  unbelieving  sensualist  revel  away  in  riot 
and  debauchery  his  ephemeral  existence.  I  cannot 
be  his  associate  or  his  guest.  His  pleasures  are  not 
my  pleasures ;  his  prospects  are  not  my  prospects. 
Ah !  In  hell  what  will  it  avail  me  to  have  eaten  and 
drunken  and  sinned  to-day !  ISTo ;  eternity  is  too 
lono- ;  God's  wrath  too  dreadful.  On  the  score  even 
of  the  highest  prudence  "  it  is  better  to  suffer  with 
the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin 
for  a  season."  "  Light  afflictions  that  endure  but  for 
a  moment "  are  not  to  be  put  in  competition  with 
"  an  eternal  weight  of  glory."  But  Christianity  im- 
poses no  insuperable  burdens.  I  can  deny  myself.  I 
can  restrain  and  subjugate  my  passions.  I  can  give 
up  "  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and  the 
pride  of  life."  I  can  do  more  than  abstain.  I  can 
endure  hunger  and  thirst,  and  cold  and  nakedness. 
The  primitive  Christians  endured  these;  Christians 


\^ 


13G  THE    RESURRECTION. 

of  later  times,  and  not  far  from  our  own  day,  have 
endured  these — endured  them  for  Christ's  and  for 
righteousness'  sake.  Ever  onward,  ever  upward,  was 
the  motto  of  these  heroic  athletes. 

'Twas  God's  all-animating'  voice 
That  cheered  them  from  on  high. 

Through  the  might  of  this  resurrection  power, 
under  the  stimulus  of  this  ever  "  upward  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,"  they  fought  the  good  fight, 
they  finished  their  course,  and  are  now  in  heaven  re- 
ceiving the  reward  of  their  labors,  and  the  recom- 
pense of  their  suffering.  I  say  reward,  for  it  is 
language  used  in  Scripture  ;  but  it  was  obtained  by 
another's  merits,  and  through  a  strength  not  their 
own.  It  came  from  the  grave  of  Christ,  from  the 
grace  of  a  risen  Saviour. 

I  asked  them  whence  their  victory  came  ; 

They,  with  united  breath, 
Ascribed  their  conquest  to  the  Lamb, 

Their  triumph  to  his  death. 

And  dost  thou,  vile  sensualist,  or  dost  thou, 
wretched  unbeliever,  think  to  allure  me  from  the 
track  which  they  have  marked  out — that  path  the 
ruggedness  of  which  has  been  smoothed  by  the  mar- 
tyrs' feet,  though  still  retaining  the  sacred  impress  of 
the  martyrs'  blood  ?  No,  "  thou  man  of  the  earth, 
earthy  ;  "  no,  thou  grovelling  sensualist,  thou  second 
Esau ;  keep  to  thyself  thy  mess  of  pottage.  I'll  not 
share  it  with  thee ;  heaven  is  sold  to  purchase  it,  and 
it  is  seethed  in  the  blood  of  the  soul.  And  thou,  in- 
sulting scoffer,  scoff  on.  I  can  bear  thy  taunts.  I 
can  brace  my  nerves  against  fhy  jeerings.  My  pur- 
suits are  nobler  than  thine  ;  my  hopes  are  loftier  than 


THE    UNIVERSAL    KEIGN    OF    DEATH.  137 

thine.  I  fear  thee  not.  I  fear  not  man.  And  why 
should  I,  a  man,  fear  one  who  is  nothing  more  ? 
Human  instruments  of  assault,  whether  of  steel  or 
invective,  whether  the  tongue,  the  pen,  or  the  sword, 
are  but  feeble  weapons.  At  the  most  they  can  only 
kill  my  body.  Neither  the  poison  nor  the  poniard 
can  reach  the  soul.  Jesus  Christ  has  risen.  He  is 
my  security ;  intrenched  within  this  rampart  of  as- 
surance my  soul  looks  forth  in  confidence — 

Smiles  at  the  drawn  dagger,  and  defies  its  point. 

I  can  practise  self-denial ;  I  can  endure  the  deri- 
sion of  man.  I  can  defy  his  vengeance.  But  there 
is  a  being  whose  vengeance  I  cannot  endure,  and 
against  whom  it  were  not  bravery  but  frenzy  to 
array  myself.  His  power  would  crush,  his  wrath  con- 
sume. Him  first,  him  last,  him  supremely,  and  him 
exclusively  do  I  fear.  "  Yvroe  unto  him  that  striveth 
with  his  Maker.  Let  the  potsherd  strive  with  the 
putsherds  of  the  earth ;  but  let  not  man  contend 
against  his  creator,  or  the  thing  formed  say  unto  him 
who  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  1 "  At 
thought  of  thee,  O  my  God,  far  from  wishing  to  re- 
tain, I  abhor  my  sins.  "  I  abhor  myself  and  repent 
in  dust  and  ashes.  Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I 
sinned,  that  thou  mightest  be  justified  when  thou 
speakest,  and  clear  when  thou  judgest." 

Henceforth  no  trials  shall  be  accounted  insuperable, 
no  labors  too  severe,  no  self-denial  too  hard,  no  sacri- 
fices too  great,  if  so  I  may  meet  thine  approbation, 
and  through  thy  mercy  escape  from  the  wrath  to  come. 

But  there  are  motives  of  tender  as  well  as  of  awful 
interest,  springing  out  of  that  assurance  which  God 
has  given  of  a  future  judgment  by  the  resurrection  of 


133  THE   RESURRECTION. 

the  Saviour — motives  which  address  themselves  to  all 
the  nobler  principles,  to  all  the  finer  feelings  of  my 
nature. 

It  is  not  fear  alone  that  makes  me  shun  the  plea- 
sures and  fly  the  society  of  wicked  men.  Existence 
is  dear  to  me ;  I  desire  its  continuance ;  1  wish  to 
live  forever.  I  respect  even  my  body, — that  body 
which  God  made, — so  wonderfully  and  fearfully 
made.  Mysterious  product  from  the  dust;  it  is 
honorable  to  him  ;  it  is  endeared  and  precious  to  me. 
Through  its  subtile  and  delicately  arranged  organs  I 
first  received  the  notices  of  being,  beheld  the  light, 
traced  out  the  forms  of  things,  became  acquainted 
with  the  melody  of  sounds,  heard  the  voice  of  prayer, 
the  note  of  praise,  and  learned  to  read  the  name  and 
acquire  some  faint  idea  of  the  attributes  of  my  Crea- 
tor. This  body  I  have  dwelt  in  since  I  began  to  be. 
I  have  fed  and  clothed  it ;  I  have  nursed  and  nur- 
tured it ;  I  strive  to  prolong  its  vigor,  to  prevent  its 
decay,  and  to  perpetuate  its  being.  But  this  I  cannot 
do.  In  despite  of  all  my  wishes,  all  my  efforts,  it 
wastes,  it  declines,  it  tends  to  dissolution,  and  it 
will  finally  be  all  dissolved.  I  feel  that  it  is  marked 
for  death,  that  it  is  ripening  for  the  sepulchre. 
I  see  the  uplifted  arm  of  the  dread  power  that 
will  crush  my  hopes,  and  turn  my  body  into  dust. 
Yes,  I  foresee  that  I  must  die.  I  cannot  prevent, 
I  cannot  delay,  this  catastrophe.  And  yet  what  it 
is  to  die,  I  know  not.  My  view  reaches  not  even 
to  the  sepulchre  ;  much  less  beyond  it.  I  have  seen, 
indeed,  a  fellow-creature  die,  and  I  know  enough 
of  death  to  know  that  it  is  dreadful  beyond  my  know- 
ledge, beyond  my  conception.  The  shroud,  the  coffin, 
the  corse,  the  grave,  appall  me.     A  strange  and  inde- 


THE    UNIVERSAL    REIGN    OF   DEATH.  139 

finable  horror  seizes  my  frame ;  a  sudden  and  con- 
vulsive chill  passes  through  my  heart  at  the  sight  of 
death,  at  the  thought  of  dying.  Something  within 
me  intimates  that  before  me  there  are  clangers. 
Affrighted,  I  cling  to  life,  and  start  backward  from 
that  covered  gulf,  towards  whose  brink  I  feel  myself 
impelled  by  a  resistless  power. 

I  am  a  sinner.  Of  that  I  am  conscious ;  nor  is  it 
in  the  power  of  created  beings  to  rid  me  of  that  con- 
sciousness. And  I  fear  death  the  more  because  I  am 
a  sinner.  I  tremble  at  the  thought  of  falling  into 
nothing;  still  more  do  I  tremble  at  the  thought  of 
falling  into  hell.  All  that  nature  has  intimated,  all 
that  philosophy  has  conjectured  to  support  my  soul 
against  the  dread  of  death  is  vague,  indefinite,  uncer- 
tain, and  unsubstantial.  I  am  distressed,  and  exam- 
ine ;  I  re-examine,  and  am  still  distressed.  Nothing 
that  any  human  philosophy  has  offered  comes  home 
to  my  understanding  and  my  heart  like  that  great  fact, 
my  Saviour's  resurrection. 

That  speaks  a  language  which  I  understand ;  that 
presents  a  motive  which  I  feel.  The  resurrection  of 
the  body  is  not  now,  as  formerly,  a  matter  of  opinion. 
The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  actually  risen,  and  in  his 
rising  I  see  at  once  the  pattern  and  the  pledge  of  my 
own  and  of  the  resurrection  of  my  species. 

I  am  now  sure  that  the  grave  will  not  be  to  me  the 
bed  of  death.  I  shall  be  raised  from  thence.  I 
know  I  shall  be  raised,  because  Christ  has  risen.  I 
know  this  not  only,  but  I  rejoice  in  it  also.  I  abhor 
the  sepulchre,  that  house  of  putrefaction.  I  desire 
most  ardently  to  be  raised  from  it.  Nor  will  desire 
cease,  nor  the  cup  of  my  joy  be  full,  while  my  body 
bears  that  stamp  of  sin  and  death  upon  it.     Then  only 


14:0  THE    RESURRECTION. 

"  shall  I  he  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  thy  likeness" 
And  since  thou  hast  given  nie  assurance,  O  thou  dy- 
ing, thou  risen  Saviour, — since  thou  hast  given  me 
this  assurance, — that  I  shall  awake,  I  must  obey  thee ; 
thy  love  c<  distrains  me.  Nothing  commanded  by  such 
a  Master  can  be  deemed  oppressive,  nor  when  softened 
by  such  kindness,  and  excited  by  such  hopes,  is  even 
my  obdurate  heart  reluctant  to  comply. 

Nor  for  myself  only  do  I  thus  feel  and  reason.  I 
have  kindred,  I  have  friends  to  whom  I  am  attached. 
But  even  from  that  circle,  all  that  is  excellent,  all  that 
is  endearing,  has  faded,  or  is  now  fading.  I  have 
looked  upon  the  cold  clay  from  which  the  vital  prin- 
ciple had  departed.  The  signs  of  thought  and  friend- 
ship and  virtue  still  lingered  there.  Death  had  not 
.  quite  effaced  them ;  but  all  they  signified  had  fled. 
I  have  followed  their  remains  to  the  sepulchre.  There 
were  they  covered  from  my  sight,  and  there,  pensive 
and  oppressed,  have  I  lingered ;  for  within  was  con- 
tained a  treasure,  marred  indeed,  but  still  dear  to  me. 
Often  in  thought  do  I  revisit  those  chambers  where  my 
dead  kindred,  my  dead  friends  repose.  I  cleave  to  the 
monument  that  bears  their  names,  and  hang  over  the 
mound  that  hides  their  ashes.  To  this  nature  prompts, 
to  this  love  constrains  me. 

Let  the  gross,  unfeeling  unbeliever  bury  his  dead 
as  he  does  his  cattle ;  let  a  false  spiritualism  that  has 
no  countenance  in  Scripture  treat  the  body  as  some- 
thing beneath  its  philosophic  contemplation ;  let  the 
other  apparent  extreme  of  a  heartless  materialism 
speak  with  contempt  of  our  mortal  remains,  as  being 
no  more  than  other  earth,  ever  passing  into  other 
forms ;  let  the  vulgar,  scoffing  infidel  characterize 
them  as  having  no  other  excellence  than  to  serve  as 


THE   UNIVERSAL    REIGN    OF    DEATH.  141 

hidden  manure  to  enrich  our  fields  and  gardens.  With 
none  of  these  can  I  hold  sympathy.  The  philosophic 
and  the  vulgar  strain  are  alike  odious  and  repulsive. 
Something  tells  me  that  these  remains  are  precious. 
I  think  it  is  an  instinct  of  my  nature.  Something 
seems  to  tell  me  that,  perishing  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves, they  are  still,  in  some  mysterious  manner,  con- 
nected with  the  imperishable ,  and  that  their  higher 
identity,  their  true  identity,  cannot  be  lost.  They 
may  still  be  denoted  by  the  names  and  by  the  per- 
sonal pronouns  once  used  in  addressing  them.  They 
have  still  a  personality,  a  selfhood,  residing  in  the 
matter,  and  continuing  beyond  the  utmost  limits  of 
material  dissolvability.  "  The  souls  of  believers  pass 
into  glory,  but  their  bodies,  being  still  united  to  Christy 
do  rest  in  their  graves  until  the  resurrection."  So 
speaks  the  symbol  of  our  faith,  grounded  as  it  is  on 
Scripture.  Their  bodies  being  still  united  to  Christ. 
Here  is  the  secret  of  life,  even  of  the  indestructible 
bodily  germ.  "  Because  He  lives,  they  shall  live  also." 
There  is  a  sacredness  in  this  natural  feeling  of  which 
I  have  spoken,  and  Revelation  most  touchingly  as  well 
as  powerfully  confirms  it.  It  is  thus  that  I  have 
learned  to  respect  sepulchral  ashes.  It  comes  from 
the  voice  of  nature,  and  from  the  tutelage  of  faith. 
I  learn  its  confirmation  in  the  school  of  Jesus.  Hope- 
ful tears  befit  the  mourner.  He  teaches  me  this  by 
those  he  himself  mingled  with  the  tears  of  the  weep- 
ing sisters  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  their  brother.  But 
though  I  may  have  learned  it  from  faith  alone,  still  it 
is  a  lesson  I  am  not  willing  to  unlearn.  I  would  not 
give  away  those  tears  for  all  the  atheist's  unbaptized 
insensibility.  I  covet  not  his  real  or  affected  stoicism, 
his  brute-like   apathy.     No,  my  dead  kindred  still 


142  THE   RESURRECTION. 

remain  akin  to  me.  The  being  even  of  their  bodies 
has  not  perished — shall  not  perish.  Neither  is  it 
another  body,  wholly  alien  to  the  first  familiar  organ- 
ization, that  is  to  be  the  dwelling-place  of  their 
future  and  more  glorious  existence.  Though  "  a  house 
not  made  with  hands,"  it  will  not  be  "  an  unclothing," 
but  a  "  clothing  upon."  The  link  even  of  the  bodily 
identity,  hard  as  it  may  be  for  science  and  philosophy 
to  trace  it,  shall  not  be  lost.  The  Scripture  here  is  as 
emphatic  as  it  is  clear  and  concise.  It  is  "  this  cor- 
ruptible" to  (pdaprbv  tovto,  that  "  shall  put  on  incor- 
ruption  ; "  it  is  "  this  mortal"  to  Ovvtov  tovto,  that 
"  shall  put  on  immortality."  Therefore  it  is  that  I 
respect  this  sleeping  dust  and  ashes,  as  something 
connected  with  a  higher  life.  "  Their  bodies,  being 
still  united  to  Christ,  do  rest  in  their  graves  until  the 
resurrection?  Thus,  whilst  nature  intimates  that  these 
human  remains  are  precious,  Jesus  tells  me  why  it  is 
so.  The  dying  members  rest  with  their  dying,  risen 
head.  "  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living." 

Those  ruins  shall  be  built  again, 
And  all  that  dust  shall  rise. 

Christ  says  that  He  will  raise  it  up,  and  I  believe 
him.  I  will,  therefore,  build  their  monuments.  These 
are  more  than  tokens  of  affection.  They  are  tokens 
of  faith.  They  evince  that  their  builder  expects  a 
resurrection,  and  that  he  buries  his  dead  in  confidence 
of  Christ's  second  coming. 

But  not  my  friends  only  who  repose  in  death  are 
taken  into  this  account,  and  form  an  item  in  this  con- 
clusive argument.  I  have  living  friends  also,  friends 
of  whom  as  yet  the  destroyer  has  not  robbed  me. 
Could  I  believe  that  these  would  be  exempted,  broken 


THE   UNIVERSAL   KEION   OF   DEATH.  143 

as  the  circle  of  my  companions  lias  become,  it  would 
be  some  relief.  But  even  of  this  partial,  stinted  con- 
solation I  am  deprived.  Those  who  remain,  remain 
on  sufferance.  Death  has  already  fixed  his  seal  upon 
them.  All,  all  are  marked  for  the  sepulchre ;  and 
even  while  they  seem  to  linger,  are  tending  step  by 
step  toward  that  oblivious  region  whence  they  shall 
not  return. 

The  movement  of  this  living  world  to  death  is  uni- 
form and  universal.  Neither  talents,  nor  learning, 
nor  usefulness,  nor  virtue  afford  exemption,  or  even 
procure  a  respite.  The  firmer  we  cling  to  life,  the 
more  easily  we  seem  to  be  broken  from  our  hold. 
There  is  no  anchorage  on  this  side  death,  no  haven 
where  this  tempest-driven  bark  of  ours  can  rest.  It  is 
ordained  that  it  should  be  so,  and  all  attempts  to  elude 
or  resist  are  vain.  The  whole  race  are  given  up  to 
death ;  they  are  all  dead,  or  dying,  or  about  to  die. 
There  are,  indeed,  dreams  of  life,  but  they  are  only 
dreams,  mere  visions  of  the  imagination,  fleeting  as 
ideal.  The  monuments  of  art,  it  is  true,  for  a  little 
time  remain ;  but  the  artificer,  where  is  he  ?  He  is  as 
though  he  had  never  been ;  his  eye  has  lost  its  vision, 
his  fingers  their  skill.  Though  constructed  of  perish- 
able materials,  the  building  outlasts  the  builder. 
AVe  may  erect,  but  it  is  our  successors  who  will  inhabit. 

The  very  trees  we  have  set,  nay,  the  very  shrubbery 
we  have  planted  around  these  halls  and  along  the 
walks  of  science  will  outlive  us.  These  organic  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil  will  grow  and  flourish,  and  bud  and 
blossom,  when  no  flower  of  thought,  no  bud  of  fancy, 
no  germ  of  genius,  shall  put  forth  from  the  cold  bo- 
soms of  those  beings  who  plucked  them  from  their 
native  bed  and  set  them  here. 


144  THE    EESUEEECT10N. 

This  chosen  spot,  these  rising  grounds,  have  been 
our  recent  theatre  of  action,  and  they  will,  perhaps, 
for  a  few  days  longer  be  our  theatre  of  action.  Here 
we  have  exercised  our  taste,  our  judgment,  our  skill. 
We  have  planned,  and  more  than  this— because  God 
has  thus  far  helped  us — we  have  executed.  The  hills 
have  been  depressed,  the  valleys  raised,  the  rudeness 
of  nature  has  disappeared,  the  regularity  of  art  has 
succeeded,  and  everything  has  changed  around  us  or 
is  changing. 

This  scene  of  toil  and  anxiety  ended,  will  there 
follow,  think  you,  a  scene  of  rest  and  enjoyment? 
There  is  no  rest  for  man — for  man,  the  victim  of 
pain,  of  disease,  of  death — for  man,  who  is  doomed 
to  the  sepulchre. 

There  has  been  a  first,  but  there  can  be  no  second 
Eden  on  this  earth.  In  this,  our  beloved  literary  re- 
treat, we  have  fled  the  corruptions  and  the  tumult  of 
the  city,  but  we  have  not  fled  the  corruption  of  sin, 
nor  the  tumult  of  the  passions.  The  causes  of  inqui- 
etude  were  not  peculiar  to  the  site  which  this  institu- 
tion has  heretofore  occupied.  Even  this  second  loca- 
tion has  been  made  within  the  precincts  of  the  King 
of  Terrors.  Hither  our  iniquities  have  followed  us, 
and  here  our  God  will  surely  find  us  out. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  pleasure  in  contemplating  this 
new  scenery  which  has  so  suddenly  displayed  itself. 
It  is  a  pleasure,  however,  not  without  alloy.  Many  a 
melancholy  association  dims  the  prospect  and  saddens 
the  contemplation.  It  is  grateful  to  behold  the  tem- 
ple of  science  reared  up  and  the  halls  of  instruction 
opened.  It  is  grateful  to  mark  the  growth  and  walk 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  fir-tree  and  the  elm  which 
have  been  planted ;  but  the  thought  occurs  that  these 


THE    UNIVERSAL   KEIGN   OF   DEATH.  145 

are  not  the  only  trees  that  befit  these  consecrated 
classic  grounds ; — why  have  the  cypress  and  the  yew- 
tree  been  omitted? 

We  have  oar  walks  for  contemplation  and  for  exer- 
cise ;  our  Groves  of  the  Academy,  and  our  Vale  of 
Tempe.  The  line  of  the  Campus  has  been  struck, 
the  parterre  laid  out,  and  flowers  already  bedeck  it. 
But  our  work  is  yet  unfinished — even  the  very  design 
is  incomplete.  One  spot  remains  to  be  selected  and 
enclosed — a  little  spot,  around  which  the  willow  may 
bend  and  weep,  and  where  the  death-bird  may  perch 
and  sing  her  funeral  song. 

Much  as  we  have  designed  and  executed,  we  have 
as  yet  laid  out  no  burial-ground,  we  have  built  no 
sepulchre.  But  though  we  have  not,  every  day's  mor- 
tality reminds  us  that  these  are  needful.  Death,  that 
frequents  the  city,  frequents  also  the  solitude.  lie 
respects  not  even  consecrated  grounds,  but  delights  to 
conceal  himself  along  the  walks  of  the  Muses,  and  to 
watch  unseen  in  the  vestibule  of  science.  No  retire- 
ment escapes  his  pestiferous  breath  ;  no  path  his  pol- 
luting tread;  nor  is  the  college  any  more  than  the 
lazar-house  secure  from  his  defiling  and  destructive 
entrance. 

Here,  too,  the  King  of  Terrors  will  take  his  stand, 
to  disappoint  the  public  expectation,  to  wring  the 
heart  of  friendship,  and  to  cut  off  forever  the  fond 
parent's  hope.  As  when  an  untimely  frost  passes 
over  the  face  of  nature,  so,  at  his  chill  presence, 
wither  alike  the  flowers  of  intellect  and  the  weeds  of 
ignorance.  No  station  is  spared.  At  his  command 
the  master  and  the  pupil  descend  alike  to  the  sepul- 
chre. 

Yet  a  little  while,  and  this  endeared  retreat,  laid 


146  THE    RESURRECTION. 

out  with  so  much  taste  and  adorned  with  so  many  and 
such  sudden  beauties,  will  have  become  a  residence  for 
death.  That  dreaded  spoiler  is  about  to  enter  it,  nay, 
he  has  already  entered  it.  Twice,  though  his  ambush 
is  concealed,  and  though  his  arrow  flew  in  secret,  has 
he  given  afflictive  notice  of  his  entrance.  Twice  have 
we  heard  his  victims  groan ;  twice  have  we  seen  them 
fall.*  "Whom  next,  or  in  what  quick  succession  he 
will  dart  his  arrows,  God  only  knows. 

Here,  as  on  every  other  spot  of  this  accursed  and 
sin-defiled  earth,  "all  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the 
glory  thereof  as  the  flower  of  the  grass.  The  grass 
withereth,  the  flower  f  adeth.  For  death  is  come  up 
into  our  windows,  and  is  entered  into  our  palaces,  to 
cut  off  the  children  from  without,  and  the  young  men 
from  the  streets.  Therefore  so  teach  us,  O  God,  to 
number  our  days  as  to  apply  our  hearts  to  true  wis- 
dom." 

*  This  was  doubtless  preached  during  a  period  of  epidemic 
fever  that  at  one  time  prevailed  in  the  College  ;  or  a  previous  ser- 
mon may  have  been  adapted  to  the  occasion.  It  must  have  been 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sickness,  for  more  afterwards  fell  victims 
to  it,  whose  monuments,  referring  to  the  time,  are  now  in  the 
College  cemetery.  Both  of  these  discourses,  the  IXth  and  the 
Xth,  bear  evidence  of  having  been  preached  during  the  time  when 
Dr.  Nott  was  so  ardently  engaged  in  laying  out  and  beautifying 
the  College  grounds.     See  note,  p.  101. — Ed. 


X. 

THE  GRAVE  OF  ADAM— THE  GRAVE  OF  CHRIST. 

God  now  conimandcth  all  men  every  where  to  repent.    Acts  xvii.  30. 
As  all  who  are  in  Adam  die,  so  all  who  are  in  Christ  shall  be  made 
alive.     1st  Corinthians  xv.  22. 

As  the  mind  runs  along  the  track  of  future  ages, 
what  an  oppressive,  what  a  melancholy  prospect  opens 
before  us!  So,  too,  when  from  some  distant  and 
imaginary  point  we  fancy  ourselves  looking  back  upon 
this  scene,  how  solemn,  how  afflictive  is  the  anticipated 
retrospection.  All  the  present  population  gone  ;  not 
one  remaining  who  knew,  or  loves,  or  thinks  of  us,  or 
who  has  ever  heard  our  names.  The  shrubs  we  set 
have  died ;  the  trees  we  planted  have  mouldered. 
Every  ornament  has  been  effaced.  The  very  dome  has 
fallen  in,  and  the  column  that  supported  it  lies  in 
ruins— ruins  over  which  the  ox  browses,  the  tent  is 
spread,  or  on  which  the  soldier's  foot  profanely  tram- 
ples. The  things  that  were  have  become  as  though 
they  had  never  been. 

We  have  built,  we  can  build,  no  lasting  monument. 
That  surely  cannot  be  for  immortality  whose  founda- 
tion is  in  the  dust.  After  all  that  we  have  done,  there 
will  shortly  remain  to  us  nothing  but  our  sepulchres. 
Let  us  leave  the  dream  of  sublunary  glory  then,  and 
hasten  to  erect  them.     Since  Jesus  Christ  has  risen. 


14S  THE    RESURRECTION. 

this  will  no  longer  be  a  melancholy  service.  A  beam, 
an  anticipated  beam  from  the  resurrection  morning 
softens  the  visage  of  death,  and  chases  from  the  bury- 
ing-groimd  its  haunting  spectres.  Now,  no  chill 
passes  through  my  bosom  ;  no  horror  seizes  my  frame, 
when,  alone  and  benighted,  my  pathway  crosses  its 
gloomy  bounds. 

Now  we  can  draw  the  line,  assign  the  limits,  and 
even  make  the  subdivisions  of  our  collegiate  cemetery 
with  submission,  nay,  even  with  complacency.  Of  all 
the  enclosures  on  these  variegated  grounds,  this  be- 
comes the  most  endeared  and  frequented.  This  is  the 
Christian's  vale  of  Tempe.  Its  destination  conse- 
crates it.  At  its  entrance  we  put  off  unhallowed 
passions.  Its  solemn  ornamentation  checks  our  levity, 
abates  our  ardor.  Its  tranquil,  retired  avenues  afford 
the  calmest,  sweetest  retreats  for  contemplation,  the 
holiest  walks  for  Christian  friendship. 

This  is  the  only  .retreat  where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling,  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest. 
Precious,  endeared,  chosen  spot !  Since  Jesus  Christ 
lias  risen,  no  verdure  so  green  as  thine;  no  flowers  so 
lovely.  Now  thy  very  cypress  and  thy  yew  trees 
blossom,  and  from  that  drooping  willow,  through 
which  sighs  so  long  had  murmured,  songs  are  heard. 

Yonder  we  have  taught  and  toiled;  but  when  our 
day  of  life  is  ended,  here  shall  we  retire.  Those  other 
grounds  have  been  our  theatre  of  action  ;  these  shall 
be  our  bed  of  rest.  Here  in  this  spot  we  shall  repose 
until  Christ's  second  coming.  Here,  beneath  this 
turf,  from  which  the  shrubs,  the  trees,  nay,  the  very 
monuments  have  mouldered,  he  will  recognize  our 
sleeping  dust,  On  this  spot  we  shall  hear  the  Arch- 
angel's trump,  and  hence  we  shall  arise  to  welcome 


THE  GRAVE  OF  ADAM — THE  GRAVE  OF  CHRIST.  149 

that  decisive,  universal  summons,  "  Awake,  ye  dead, 
and  come  to  judgment!"  For  as  in  Adam  all  have 
died,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive. 

Ah,  how  unlike  are  the  offices  performed  for  us  by 
our  first  and  second  representative.  How  unlike  the 
inheritance  they  bequeathed — how  unlike  their  very 
sepulchres ! 

Let  us  visit  them.  It  is  evening — the  sun  has  set 
— the  hour  of  contemplation  has  arrived.  A  walk  to 
the  burying-ground  may  edify  us  ;  to  view  their  monu- 
ments may  be  instructive.  Let  us  visit  them.  That 
is  the  sepulchre  of  Adam — that  of  Jesus.  And  is  the 
sepulchre  of  Adam  here?  It  is.  Draw  near,  ye 
orphan  children,  ye  posterity  of  his — draw  near,  and 
contemplate  it.  See  how  the  moss  has  grown  upon  it, 
and  how  the  death-worm  crawls  within.  There  lies 
the  body  of  thy  great  progenitor— that  body,  fashioned 
by  the  immediate  hand  of  God  himself,  now  disor- 
ganized and  decayed ;  its  shroud  decayed,  its  coffin, 
all,  all  decayed  and  mouldered  into  unclistinguishable 
dust. 

Not  so  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus.  Draw  near,  child 
of  grace,  exulting  disciple ;  draw  near,  and  see  the 
place  where  your  Lord  once  lay.  Not  moss,  but 
flowers  new  blown,  bedeck  the  rock  of  Joseph. 

No  death-worm  crawls  within ;  within  there  is  no 
food  for  worms.  The  soul  of  Him  whom  we  adore 
"  was  not  left  in  Hades,  nor  did  his  body  see  corrup- 
tion." Behold  the  linen  cloth  that  girded  him  ;  it  has 
not  mouldered,  nor  has  the  mildew  touched  the  napkin 
that  was  bound  around  his  head. 

There,  in  the  tomb  of  Adam,  beauty  fades,  vigor 
forsakes  the  arm  of  flesh,  and  the  life  that  was,  ceases. 

Here,  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus,  beauty  is  restored,  the 


150  THE    RESURRECTION. 

arm  of  flesh  is  restrimg,  and  the  life  that  was  not,  again 
returns. 

That  is  an  iron  sepulchre ;  its  massive  covering 
/  presses  on  the  bosom,  and  crushes  the  victim  under  it ; 
nor  has  he  opened,  nor  can  he  ever  open  it. 

This  is  already  opened ;  it  contains  no  victim.  The 
dead  have  left  it ;  left  it  empty,  yet  hallowed — destined 
never  more  to  hold  the  remains  of  human  mor- 
tality. 

Around  that  sepulchre  Death  stalks  a  conqueror, 
brandishing  his  weapons,  exulting  in  his  strength,  and 
insultingly  trampling  on  the  skulls  and  bones  beneath 
him. 

Around  this  Death  is  led  captive,  bound,  subdued, 
and  powerless.  His  shield  has  been  torn  away ;  his 
bow  lies  on  the  earth  unstrung ;  scattered  beside  it 
behold  his  broken  and  his  pointless  arrows. 

Hark !  from  the  tomb  of  Adam  a  melancholy  voice 
comes  forth :  "  Victim  of  sin  and  death,  thou  wert 
made  of  dust,  and  to  dust  shalt  thou  return." 

From  the  tomb  of  Christ  a  far  different  voice  re- 
sponds :  "  Heir  of  righteousness  and  life,  when  thy 
body  shall  return  unto  the  dust  as  it  was,  thy  spirit 
shall  ascend  unto  God  who  gave  it." 

Hark !  from  the  tomb  of  Adam  those  words  of 
despair:  "By  one  man  sin  hath  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  shall  pass  upon 
all  men,  because  all  have  sinned."  From  its  gloomy 
vault  is  ever  heard  the  questions  which  nature  cannot 
answer :  "  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ? "  "  Can 
these  dry  bones  revive  % " 

Again,  from  the  tomb  of  Christ  a  voice  responds : 
"  Yes,  these  dry  bones  can  live."  "  With  my  body 
shall  they  come."     "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 


THE   GRAVE   OF    ADAM THE    GRAY]';    OF    CIIKIST.     151 

life;  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead, 
vet  shall  he  live  again."  "  Dry  up  thy  tears,  redeemed 
sinner — Adam,  thy  sire,  has  not  perished  ;  Noah  has 
not  perished  ;  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  have  not 
perished ;  nay,  '  blessed  are  all  the  dead  that  die  in 
the  Lord  ;  they  only  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their 
works  do  follow  them.' "  "  In  my  Father's  house 
there  are  still  many  mansions ;  if  it  were  not  so  I 
would  have  told  you;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for 
you.  And  if  I  go  away,  I  will  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye 
may  be  also." 

I  have  visited  this  sepulchre  of  Christ  before ;  I  have 
often  visited  it,  and  I  still  love  to  visit  it.  It  was  here 
that  my  dread  of  death  abated  ;  it  was  here  that  my 
hope  of  immortality  began.  As  I  find  it  now,  so  I 
have  always  found  it,  perfumed  with  fragrance,  and 
vocal  with  the  song  of  triumph.  Yes,  this  rock  of 
Joseph  has  stood  for  ages,  and  it  still  stands,  a  beacon 
to  the  wanderer,  and  to  the  mourner  an  asylum. 

The  angels  who  descended  have  not  left  it,  nor  will 
they  leave  it,  till  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  are  raised. 
Here  they  delight  to  linger ;  they  bedeck  this  monu- 
ment ;  they  watch  and  trim  that  lamp  which  hangs 
suspended  at  its  entrance.  To  every  penitent  inquirer 
they  now  say,  as  they  said  unto  the  weeping,  affrighted 
Marys  :  "  Fear  not  ye,  for  we  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus 
who  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here,  for  he  has  risen, 
as  he  said.  Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
lay." 

These  words  have  lost  nothing  of  their  import  or  of 
their  efficacy.  Now,  as  formerly,  it  is  life,  it  is  im- 
mortality which  they  bring  to  light.  Ah,  could  we 
hear  them  with  such  hearts  as  the  primitive  Christians 


S 


152  THE    RESURRECTION.    ' 

heard  them.  "  He  is  not  here  ;  he  has  risen,  as  he 
said."  As  the  angel  pronounced  these  words,  radiance 
fell  upon  the  sepulchre ;  from  within  it  every  spectre 
fled,  and  with  them  that  eternal  darkness  in  which 
they  were  enveloped.  Amazed,  the  disciples  entered 
to  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  had  lain,  shouting  as 
they  entered :  Now,  O  Death,  where  is  thy  sting ; 

0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  !  It  was  finished — the 
triumph  was  complete,  the  sting  of  sin  was  plucked, 
the  agony  of  dying  was  over.  A  sudden  throb  passed 
throughout  the  surrounding  Golgotha,  and  from  every 
cleft  and  cavern  where  redeemed  dust  had  been  de- 
posited was  echoed  back  to  the  living  world  the  note 
of  victory. 

I  have  visited  the  sepulchre  of  Adam,  too,  before ; 

1  have  often  visited  it.  But  I  have  always  found  it 
as  I  now  find  it,  cold  and  comfortless  and  dreary. 
Multitudes  have  entered  it,  and  are  still  entering  it ; 
but  there  is  no  egress.  Its  doors  close,  but  they  never 
open.  No  angel  ever  visits  it,  except  the  angel  of  de- 
struction. Its  keeper  hangs  no  lamp  of  radiance  at  its 
entrance.  This  is  not  his  office.  It  is  only  to  slay  the 
living,  and  prolong  the  bondage  of  the  dead,  that  he 
has  been  commissioned.  Reason,  indeed,  holds  out 
her  feeble  taper  to  assist  my  vision.  But  its  beams 
are  few  and  faint  and  tremulous,  and  only  render  the 
surrounding  darkness  on  which  they  fall  more  visible. 

Agonized  with  doubt,  I  ask  how  long?  when  will 
release  arrive?  Or  is  this  bondage  final  ?  The  dread 
keeper,  frowning  on  me,  answers  only  by  pointing  to 
the  bones  of  Adam.  I  see  them  mouldered.  Firmer, 
and  yet  more  firm,  the  earth  settles  on  the  patriarch's 
bosom,  and  from  the  cell  of  every  kindred  skeleton 
throughout  this  charnel-house  a  groan  is  heard. 


THE  GRAVE  OF  ADAM — THE  GEAVE  OF  CHRIST.  153 

And  yet,  in  that  sepulchre  of  Adam  I  have  kin- 
dred— sisters,  once  the  companions  of  my  youth;  a 
brother,  whom  these  eyes  have  never  seen.  There 
my  father  lies — my  mother — the  partner  of  ray  earlier 
years;  there  sleeps  a  beloved  infant.  There  too  I 
shall  myself  be  laid,  and  there  around  me  my  remain- 
ing children  will  be  gathered.  Xo  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  I  wish  only  to  contemplate  the  tomb  of 
Adam  in  connection  with  that  of  Jesus.  The  glory 
that  rests  upon  the  one,  scatters  the  clouds  and  dis- 
pels the  horrors  that  gather  within  and  around  the 
other. 

The  rock  of  Joseph  ;  be  that  my  hope  in  death,  as 
it  has  been  my  joy  in  life.  Nor  my  joy  only.  Affec- 
tion mingles  in  the  emotions  which  I  feel  at  the 
thought  of  Him  whose  memory  hallows  it.  "  Whom 
not  having  seen  we  love,  and  whom,  though  now  we 
see  him  not,  yet  believing,  we  rejoice  with  joy  un- 
speakable and  full  of  glory." — The  resurrection  is 
not  the  whole  of  Christ.  That  makes  him  known  ; 
but  it  is  his  perfection  that  makes  him  precious. 
His  attributes  of  wisdom  and  of  justice,  no  less 
than  his  deeds  of  goodness  and  of  mercy,  claim  mv 
soul's  admiration,  deserve  my  heart's  most  cherished 
love. 

Beside  the  record  of  His  life,  the  history  of  Cyrus, 
the  annals  of  Caesar,  appear  mean — gloriless.  His  is 
a  heroism  that  excites  my  admiration,  because  it 
reaches  the  miseries  of  my  condition.  He  is  mv 
sovereign  by  choice,  as  well  as  by  necessity.  I  feel 
emulous  to  be  enrolled  in  his  book  of  life,  and  to  fol- 
low in  his  train  of  glory.  He  is  ordained  my  judge, 
and  it  is  my  joy  that  he  is  so  ordained.  I  consent, 
nay,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I  desire,  to  be  tried 


154:  THE    RESURRECTION. 

at  his  judgment-seat.  It  is  my  highest  hope  to  be 
presented  among  the  millions  of  the  saved  as  a  mon- 
ument of  his  mercy ;  nor  do  I  wish  to  enter  heaven 
in  any  other  way  than  as  a  trophy  of  his  grace.  To 
others  there  may  seem  to  be  no  comeliness  in  him 
that  he  should  be  desired ;  but  to  the  redeemed  soul 
he  is  "  the  chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  the  one 
altogether  lovely." 

Do  you  ask,  sinner,  what  Jesus  Christ  has  done  for 
me,  that  should  so  much  endear  him  ?  I  answer,  he 
has  died  for  me ;  while  I  was  yet  his  enemy  he  died 
for  me.  "  Greater  love  than  this  hath  no  man,  that  a 
man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends.  But  God  com- 
mendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us." 

Yes,  "  in  his  own  blood  he  has  washed  us,  and 
made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God."  "  Worthy 
therefore  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  and  is  alive,  to 
receive  blessing  and  honor."  And  woe  unto  him  who 
withholds  that  tribute.  If  any  man  love  not  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  himbe  anathema,  maranatha. 

Do  you  ask  what  Jesus  Chi-ist  has  done  for  me  ? 
He  has  suffered  the  penalties  of  justice ;  he  has 
quenched  the  fires  of  hell  in  my  behalf.  He  flung 
his  sacred  body  between  me  and  perdition.  And  that 
is  now  the  only  panoply  that  shields  me  from  those 
flames  by  which  the  rebel  angels  were  consumed — ■ 
the  only  pledge  I  hold  that  they  shall  not  hereafter 
kindle  on  me. 

Do  you  still  ask  what  Jesus  Christ  has  done  for 
me  ? 

I  answer,  he  hath  disarmed  death ;  he  hath  hallow- 
ed the  sepulchre.  Death  was  my  great  enemy.  He 
was  my  last  enemy.     I  dreaded  death.     But  Death  is 


THE  GRAVE  OF  ADAM — THE  GRAVE  OF  CHRIST.  155 

conquered.      Jesus   Christ    hath    conquered   Death, 
plucked  the  wreath  of  triumph  f  rom  the  grave. 

He  has  conquered  death  for  me;  mine  is  the  vic- 
tory.    Me  hath  he  released  from  that  dreaded  iron 
bondage.     Me  hath  he  released  that  I  might  serve 
him,  love  him,  rejoice  in  him,  praise  him  evermore. 
"  I'll  praise  him  while  he  lends  me  breath, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers  ; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last, 
Or  immortality  endures." 

Thus,  as  we  have  said,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  unfolds  a  new  and  universal  motive  to  affection 
and  obedience. 

Though  he  had  not  risen,  a  day  of  retribution 
might  be  probable,  nay,  it  might  be  certain.  But 
even  assurance  that  it  was  so  would  bring  no  joy  to 
me,  a  sinner.  My  dread  of  death  would  still  con- 
tinue ;  my  fear  of  hell  would  still  continue ;  my  sor- 
rows for  my  dead  and  dying  friends  would  still  con- 
tinue. I  should  visit  their  tombs  with  sadness ;  I 
should  build  my  own  in  agony ;  and  having  done  so, 
I  must  unstring  my  harp  and  hang  it,  like  the  captive 
Israelites,  upon  the  willow,  to  give  forth  no  note  of 
joy  till  a  deliverer  came. 

But  since  he  has  risen,  and  by  rising  given  me 
assurance  of  a  day  of  judgment  at  which  a  sinner 
may  be  justified,  the  whole  aspect  of  existence  is 
changed.  Now  it  is  my  life,  my  joy,  to  honor  and 
obey  him — to  do  and  to  suffer  for  him. 

I  love  existence  ;  I  sigh  for  immortality ;  I  love  my 
friends,  my  kindred,  my  species.  For  me,  for  them, 
none  has  done  so  much ;  none  has  waked  or  worked 
so  lone*  as  Jesus. 


156  THE   EESUEEECTION. 

' '  He's  waked  and  worked  for  ages ;  from  the  birth 
Of  nature,  to  this  unbelieving  hour. 
In  this  small  province  of  his  vast  domain 
(All  Nature  bows,  while  I  pronounce  his  name  ! ) 
"What  has  Christ  done,  and  not  for  this  sole  end 
To  rescue  souls  from  death." 

"  Talk  they  of  morals  ?  O  thou  bleeding  Love, 
Thou  Maker  of  new  morals  to  mankind, 
The  grand  morality  is  love  to  Thee." 

I  An  infidel  I  cannot  be,  for  Jesus  Christ  has  risen. 

A  traitor  I  will  not  be,  for  Jesus  Christ  has  risen. 

Eternal  life  is  dear  to  me ;  and  dear  is  lie  who 
purchased  it.  I  am  a  Christian  from  affection  as 
well  as  from  necessity.  I  belong  to  Jesus  Christ,  be- 
cause I  love  him ;  and  love  him  because  he  is  my 
Saviour,  and  because  he  is  essentially  and  infinitely 
lovely. 

If  he  would  release  me  I  would  not  be  released. 
If  he  would  absolve  me  I  would  not  be  absolved.  If 
he  were  to  interrogate  me,  as  he  interrogated  his 
disciples,  "  Will  ye  also  go  away  ? "  I  would  reply  to 
him,  as  they  replied,  "  To  whom,  Lord,  shall  we  go  ? 
for  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life  " — and  were 
I  to  go  away  from  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  should  1  go? 
On  what  should  I  repose  my  hopes  ?  Where  should 
I  find  an  asylum  %  Regions  of  silence  and  death,  of 
darkness  and  despair !  can  ye  answer  my  agonizing 
inquiry :  T<  i  whom  can  I  go  if  I  go  away  from  Jesus  1 

No,  if  Jesus  Christ  would  absolve  me,  I  would  not 
be  absolved.  I  want  no  other  master.  I'll  wear  no 
other  livery  ;  nor  own  nor  owe  allegiance  elsewhere. 
Submission  to  him  is  not  bondage,  it  is  liberty — lib- 
erty high-born  and  deathless ;  the  liberty  of  the  elect 
of  grace ;  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 


THE  GRAVE  OF  ADAM — THE  GRAVE  OF  CHRIST.  157 

His  is  the  only  praise  in  which  I  wish  my  tongue 
to  be  employed ;  his  the  only  sepulchre  in  which  I 
wish  my  body  to  be  laid,  and  his  the  only  judgment- 
prat  at  which  I  wish  my  spirit  to  be  judged.  From 
him  no  motive  could  induce  me  to  go  away.  I  would 
not  relinquish  the  love  I  bear  him,  I  would  not  re- 
linquish the  fealty  I  owe  him,  I  would  not  relinquish 
the  heaven  he  has  bequeathed  me.  I  would  not,  by 
abjuring  Christ,  live  a  sinner's  life,  however  full  of 
earthly  joy,  to  acquire  that  boasted  privilege, — to  die 
a  brute. 

Let  the  scoffing  infidel,  let  the  mortal  atheist, 
shutting  his  eye  on  Christ  and  heaven,  hug  his  coffin 
and  cling  unto  his  sod.  "  Let  him  say  unto  corrup- 
tion, Thou  art  my  father,  and  to  the  worm,  Thou  art 
my  sister  and  my  mother.1'  He  knows  no  other  ori- 
gin ;  he  has  neither  the  assurance  nor  the  hope  of 
any  other  destiny.  But  Jesus  Christ  has  taught  me 
that  "  this  corruption  can  put  on  incorruption, — that 
this  mortal  can  put  on  immortality." 

Adored  be  that  Saviour  who  made  this  sure— and 
welcome  that  resurrection  morning  that  shall  make  it 
real.  Till  then,  "  my  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope,"  and 
my  spirit  wait  in  faith  "  all  the  days  of  my  appointed 
time,  until  my  change  shall  come." 

"  Now  may  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again 
from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  shepherd 
of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do 
his  will,  working  in  you  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in 
his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ;  to  whom  be  glory 
forever  and  ever." 

Amen. 


THE 

^ofogirel  enb  ]PI?ifosopl}ir8l[  lufirerg, 

A  Scries  of  Text-Boo/cs,  Original  and  Translated,  for  Colleges  and 

Theological  Seminaries. 

EDITED  BY 

HENRY    B.    SMITH,    D.  D.,    and    PHILIP    SCHAFF,    D.  D., 

PROFESSORS  IN  THE  UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  NEW  YORK. 

Messrs.  Charles  Scribner  &  Co.  propose  to  publish  a  select  and  compact  Library  of  Text- 
Books  upon  ?11  the  main  departments  of  Theology  and  Philosophy,  adapted  to  the  wants 
especially  of  ministers  and  students  in  all  denominations. 

Some  of  the  works  will  be  translated  from  the  German  and  other  languages  :  others  will 
be  based  upon  treatises  by  various  authors ;  some  will  be  written  for  the  library  by  English 
or  American  scholars.  The  aim  will  be  to  furnish  at  least  one  condensed  standard  work  on 
?ach  of  the  scientific  divisions  of  Theology  and  Philosophy,  giving  the  results  of  the  b^st 
ritical  investigations,  excluding,  however,  such  histories  and  commentaries  as  extend 
fcrough  many  volumes. 

The  Initial  Volume  of  this  Series  is  Now  Ready,  viz. : 

A  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY, 

FROM  THALES  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 
By  Dr.  F.  Ueberweg,  late  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Konigsberg. 

Translated  by  George   S.    Morris,  Professor  of  Modem  Languages  In   the  Univentity 

of  Michigan.     Edited,  with  additions,  by  Noah  Porter,  LL.D..  President  of 

Yale  College,  with  an  Introduction  by  the  Editors  of  the  Library. 

Price  in  cloth  per  vol.,  $3.50. 

Prof.  Ueberweg's  great  work  stands  without  a  rival.     The  American  translation  ha* 

been  made  with  the  author*  sanction,  and  has  the  advantages  of  numerous  additions  from 

his  pen. 

r  Hta 

LANGE'S  COMMENTARY. 

ANOTHER  OLD  TESTAMENT  VOLUME. 

JOSHUA,    Translated    and    Tdited    by    Rev.   Geo.    Bliss,    D.D.,    Lewisburg,   Pa. 
JUDGES  and  RUTH    by  Rev.  P.  H.  Steenstra,  Cambridge. 

The  Volumes  previously  published  are  : 
OLD    TESTAMENT.— I.   GENESIS.      II.  PROVERBS,    SONG    OF    SOLO- 
MON, ECCLESIASTES.     III.  JEREMIAH  and  LAMENTATION. 
NEW  TESTAMENT.— r.  MATTHEW.     II.  MARK  and  LUKE.     III.  JOHN. 
IV.  ACTS.    V.  THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  TO  THE  ROMANS.    VI.  COR- 
INTHIANS.   VII.  THESbALONIANS,  TIMOTHY,  TITUS,  PHILEMON, 
and    HEBREWS.      VIII.    GALATIANS,    EPHESIANS,    PHILIPP1ANS, 
COLOSSIANS.     IX.  THE  EPISTLES   GENERAL  OF  JAMES,   PETER, 
JOHN,  and  JUDE. 
Each  one  vol.  8vo.     Price  per  vol.,  in  half  calf,  $7.50  ;   in  sheep,  $£.50  ;  in  cloth,  $5.00. 
These  works  sent,  post-paid,  on  receipt  0/  the price%  by 

SCRIBNER,  ARMSTRONG  &  CO.,  654  Broadway,  N.  Y 


DR.  HODGE'S  THEOLOGY. 

SYSTEMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

By  CHARLES  HODGE,  D.D.,  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 

To  be  completed  in  three  volumes  8vo.     Tinted  paper.     Price  per  vol.,  in  cloth,  $4.50. 

In  these  volumes  are  comprised  the  results  of  the  life-long  labors  and  investigations  <A 
one  of  the  ablest  theologians  of  the  age.  The  work  covers  the  ground  usually  occupied  by 
treatises  on  Systematic  Theology,  and  adopts  the  commonly  received  divisions  of  the  sub- 
ject :   Theology  (Vol.  I.),  Anthropology  (Vol.  II.),  Soteriology  and  Eschatology  (Vol.  III.). 

The  various  topics  ranged  under  these  different  divisions  are  discussed  with  that  close 
and  keen  analytical  and  logical  power,  combined  with  that  simplicity,  lucidity,  and  strength 
of  style,  which  have  already  given  Dr.  Hodge  a  world-wide  reputation  as  a  controversialist 
and  writer,  and  as  an  investigator  of  the  great  theological  problems  of  the  day. 

*  Volume  I.  and  Volume  II.  are  now  ready.  Volume  III.  -will  be  f-ublishtd 

tarly  in  1872. 


THE  SPEAKER'S  COMMENTARY. 

THE  FIRST  VOLUME  OF 

The  Bible  Commentary. 

(Popularly  known  in  England  as  "The  Speaker's  Commentary.") 

THE    PENTATEUCH: 

Comprising  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Deuteronomy. 

Edited    by   Rev.    Harold    E.   Browne,   Author  of   "  Exposition  of  the   Thirty-nin* 

Articles  ;  "  Rev.  F.  C.  Cook,  M.A.,  Canon  of  Exeter  and  General  Editor  of  die 

"Bible   Commentary;"    Rev.    Sam'l  Clark,    M.A.,  and  Rev.   T.  E. 

Espin,    B.D.,   Warden  of    Queen's  College,    Birmingham. 

1  vol.  royal  8vo,  1,000  pages,  with  occasional  illustrations,  handsomely  bound  in  extra 

brown  cloth,  with  black  and  gilt  lines.  Per  vol.,  $5.00. 
This  great  work,  which  has  been  prepared  by  a  combination  of  all  the  leading  divines  of 
the  Church  of  England,  had  its  origin  in  the  widely-felt  want  of  a  plain  explanatory  Com- 
mentary on  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  should  be  at  once  more  comprehensive  and  compact 
than  any  previously  published.  The  cordial  and  enthusiastic  reception  which  has  been  ex- 
tended to  the  work,  and  the  praise  bestowed  upon  the  first  volume  in  England — even  by 
those  whose  connections  would  lead  them  to  the  most  severe  and  indeed  hostile  criticism- 
demonstrate  the  great  success  which  the  enterprise  has  already  achieved.  From  tho 
fHlncss,  fairness,  thoroughness,  and  candor  with  which  all  difficult  questions  are  discussed, 
the  Bible  Commentary  is  sure  to  be  satisfactory  to  the  scholar  ;  while  the  plain,  direct,  and 
devout  manner  in  which  the  meaning  of  the  Sacred  Text  is  explained,  thoroughly  adapt  it 
fui  the  widest  popular  use,  whether  in  the  closet,  in  the  family,  or  in  the  Sunday-school. 

N.B. — A  full  prospectus  of  the  Bible  Commentary  sent  to  any  address  on  applica- 
ti'tt.  Each  volume  of  the  Bible  Commentary  will  be  complete  in  itself,  and  may  bi 
purchased  separately. 

These  works  sent,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  by 

SGRIBNER,  ARMSTRONG  &  CO.,  654  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


JUWtllH  DIALOGUES  OF  PLATO. 

The  Dialogues  of  Plato. 

Translated  into  English,  with  Analysis  and  Introductions,  by  B.  Jowett,  M.A., 

Master  of  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  and  Regius  Professor  of  Greek. 

Four  vols.,  crown  8vo,  $12.00  per  set,  in  cloth,  or  one-half  the  price  of  the  English  edition. 

From  the  New  York  Tribune. 
The  peculiar  distinction  of  Professor  Jowett  is  his  eminence  as  a  scholar,  especially  in 
the  language  and  literature  of  ancient  Greece.  Of  this  the  impress  is  stamped  on  the  pages 
of  the  great  work  before  us.  With  no  parade  of  learning,  there  is  perpetual  evidence  of 
profound  mastery  of  the  subject ;  the  ease  and  grace  with  which  the  matter  is  handled 
comes  from  knowleoge  that  is  an  habitual  possession  of  the  mind,  and  not  prepared  for 
the  occasion  ;  while  the  idiomatic  force  and  precision  of  the  style  shows  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  resources  of  the  English  tongue.  The  pleasant  flow  of  the  language  makes 
the  reading  of  the  translation  a  constant  enjoyment.  We  do  not  know  the  theory  on  which 
it  is  founded,  or  if  it  is  founded  on  any  theory  at  all ;  but  it  is  certain  that,  apart  from  the 
nature  ~>{  the  topics  under  discussion,  and  the  local  coloring  and  environment  of  the  scene, 
there  is  little  to  remind  us  that  it  is  not  an  original  production  in  the  vernacular.  For 
aught  that  is  here  indicated  to  the  contrary,  the  bees  that  settled  on  Plato's  lips  might 
as  well  have  swarmed  from  an  English  as  an  Attic  hive. 

CURT/US'  GREECE. 


THE    SECOND     VOLUME    OF 

THE  HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 

By  Prof.  Dr.  ERNST  CURTIUS. 
Translated  by  Adolfhus  William  Ward,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  St.  Peter's  College,  Cam- 
bridge.    Revised  after  the  latest  German  edition  by  W.  A.  Packard, 
Professor  of  Latin  in  Princeton  College. 
One  vol.  cr.  8vo,  700  pages,  on  tinted  paper,  uniform  with  "  Mommsen's  History  of  Rome." 
Price  per  vol.,  $2.50. 
This  volume  of  Curtius'  great  work  comprises  books  second  and  third  of  the  original : — 
From  the  Dorian  migration  to  the  Persian  wars,  and  from  the  Termination  of  the  Ionian 
Revolt  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.    The  extensive  and  important  additions 
made  to  the  latest  German  edition  have  been  specially  translated  for  the  American  edirioo, 
and  contribute  greatly  to  its  value. 

A  NEW  PHILOLOGICAL  °W0RK. 

AMERICANISMS; 

Or,  THE  ENGLISH  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD. 

By  Prof.  Schei.e  de  Vere,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  Author  of  "  Studies  in  English," 
&c.    1  vol.  cr.  8vo,  printed  on  laid  and  tinted  paper,  600  pages.    Price  in  cloth,  $3. 
Prof.  De  Vere,  whose  Studies  in  English  have  secured  him  a  high  reputation  among 
philologists, .in  this  volume  pushes  his  investigations  into  a  field  which  has  never  before 
been  explored  so  thoroughly  or  so  attractively.      He  traces  a  large  number  of  "Araeri' 
canisms  "  never  before  identified,  and  by  grouping  them  all  in  chapters  according  to  their 
respective  derivations,  gains  the  opportunity  to  develop  the  subject  in  a  systematic  and  moat 
entertaining  manner. 
,  Tht4e  works  sent  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  the  price,  by 

SCRIBNER,  ARMSTRONG  &  CO.,  654  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


A  Nt  W  BOOK  BY  MAX  MULLER. 

Eprfurps  on  f If f  $ripnrp  of  JRpftgion ; 

WITH  PAPERS  ON  BUDDHISM,  AND  A  TRANSLATION  OF  THE 
DHAMMAPADA,  OR  PATH  OF  VIRTUE. 

By  F.  MAX  MULLER, 

Author  of  "  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,"  "  Chips  from  a  German 
Workshop,"  &c,  &c.  i  vol.  crown  8vo.  $3.00. 
These  "  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Religion,"  by  this  eminent  scholar,  although  they 
attracted  wide  attention  at  the  time  of  their  delivery,  have  never  before  been  produced  in 
book  form.  In  connection  with  them  are  given  a  lecture  on  "  Buddhist  Nihilism,"  and  a 
translation  of  the  original  of  the  "  Dhammapada,  or  Path  of  Virtue,"  an  important  part  of 
the  Buddhistic  canon,  together  with  an  introduction  explaining  its  importance.  The  inter- 
est lately  awakened  in  the  Oriental  religions  gives  peculiar  value  to  these  contiibutions  to 
the  literature  relating  to  them,  by  one  who  is  perhaps  more  competent  to  give  an  account  of 
tiiem  than  any  other  living  scholar. 


Prof.  Porter's  "Human  Intellect"  Abridged. 

0pfnpiifs  of  InWIprfuel  p§!fosoj% 

A   MANUAL  FOR  SCHOOLS   AND  COLLEGES. 

Abridged  from  "The  Human  Intellect."    By  NOAH  PORTER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President 

of  Yale  College.     1  vol.  crown  8vo,  nearly  600  pages,  cloth.     Price  $3.00. 

President  Porter's  great  work  upon  the  Human  Intellect  at  once  secured  for  him  a 
foremost  place  among  living  metaphysicians.  The  demand  for  this  work— even  in  its  ex- 
pensive form — as  a  text-book,  has  induced  the  preparation  of  this  abridged  and  cheaper 
edition,  which  contains  all  the  matter  of  the  larger  work  necessary  for  use  in  the  class-routn. 


FROUDE'S  SHORT  STUDIES,  SECOND  SERIES. 

THE  SECOND  SERIES  OF 

$Ijorf  $fu&ips  on  (|rpef  ^uftjprfs. 

By  J.  A.  FROUDE,  LL.D.,  Author  of  the  "History  of  England." 
1  vol.  crown  8vo,  on  laid  tinted  paper,  in  brown  cloth,  $2.50. 

The  papers  in  this  series  of  "  Short  Studies  "  are  quite  as  popular  as  those  comprised  £11 
the  first  volume,  and  fully  as  characteristic  of  their  distinguished  author.  Among  them  are 
the  address  on  "Calvinism,"  which  has  caused  so  much  discussion  and  cemment ;  papers 
on  "The  Condition  and  Prospects  of  Protestantism,"  on  "Progress,"  "Education,"  tha 
"Sci:nrific  Method  Applied  to  History,"  &c,  &c,  with  several  which,  although  lighter 
and  more  ephemeral,  add  greatly  to  the  entertaining  character  of  the  volume. 

Thete  works  sent,  post-paid,  on  receipt  0/  the  price,  by 

SCRIBNER,  ARMSTRONG  &  CO.,  654  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


Hi 


